Tanzania: Watch Wahenga documentary online

Wahenga, which translates to 'The Ancestors', was filmed between 2015 and 2017 and premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) in 2018. It has since screened at film festivals and music events around the world, including the World Music Expo (WOMEX), Film Africa (UK), Fespaco (Burkina Faso), New African Film Festival (US) and Sabolai Music Radio Festival (Ghana).

The documentary traces Kitime as he sets out to assemble an all-star band of veteran musicians to revive the zilipendwa sound. As Kitime plays with the band, spends time with musicians and digitises reels from the 1960s and '70s, he reveals the fascinating and little-known story of zilipendwa.

"We are doing this to try to support musicians during this difficult time," Nafasi Art Space director Rebecca Corey said in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The original music recorded by Wahenga during the making of the film is now available as an album on Bandcamp."

"All proceeds from the sale of the music will go directly to the musicians and help them survive this difficult time. A great bonus is that the lyrics and translations are included with each track, so you can find out what the songs heard in the film are about, as the songs are not subtitled in the film."

Watch the full Wahenga documentary below:

[video:https://vimeo.com/277071803 autoplay:0]