Amil Shivji

Amil Shivji is a filmmaker, educator, and mentor based in Tanzania, his homeland. His award-winning fiction films have played in A-list and other prestigious festivals across the globe. His last fiction feature, Vuta N’Kuvute (Tug of War), is a story of love and resistance set in British colonial Zanzibar, which premiered at TIFF’21 and won the Oumarou Ganda Prize at FESPACO’21, special Jury prize in Seattle, and the Golden Tanit and FIPRESCI critics awards in Carthage. It was Tanzania’s second ever submission to the Oscars®. Amil has an MFA from York University, is a Berlinale Talent Alumni, a founding member of the East African Screen Collective, an Open Society fellow, a Film Independent fellow, and a EAVE graduate. He recently produced The Empty Grave which premiered at Berlinale ’24 and has played in over fifty cinemas in Germany.