• Sunday, Nov 12, 2023

    7 PM (93 mins)
    BAMPFA

    Buy Tickets


Tug of War

(Vuta n’kuvute)

Amil Shivji
Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Qatar, 2021
  • Introduction
    Zamansele Nsele

    Zamansele Nsele is assistant professor in the History of Art Department at UC Berkeley, where she specializes in modern and contemporary African art. Her current book project examines the visual art of nostalgia in contemporary African art.

featuring

Ikhlas Gafur Vora, Gudrun Columbus Mwanyika, Siti Amina, Lukman Ali,

The anti-colonial era of 1950s Tanzania is resurrected through a hypnotically stylized ambiance reminiscent of In the Mood for Love in Amil Shivji’s gorgeous drama of revolution, romance, and intrigue, the first-ever period drama from the emerging Tanzanian film industry. In the atmospheric alleyways and taarab nightclubs of Stone Town, Zanzibar, a revolution against the British-controlled sultanate is underway, as is a possible romance between a committed Mswahili Marxist and a runaway Indian Zanzibari bride. One of the most atmospheric African films in years, yet grounded in revolutionary history, Tug of War is flavored with a Wong Kar Wai-esque melancholy for not only a love lost, but also a hope.

Jason Sanders_old
FILM DETAILS 

Screenwriter

  • Amil Shivji
  • Jenna Cato Bass

Based On

  • the novel by Adam Shafi

Cinematographer

  • Zenn van Zyl

Language

  • English
  • Swahili
  • with English subtitles

Print Info

  • Color
  • DCP
  • 93 mins

Source

  • African Film Festival

Event Accessibility

If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at bampfa@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 642-1412 (during open hours) with as much advance notice as possible. More information on accessibility services.