Swahili Movies, African Films

The Swahili language has a basic origin from Bantu (African) but it also has a strong influence of the Arab and Persian. There are two diverse thought lines regarding the history of the Swahili language. One of these lines of thought asserts that the Swahili language originated as a result of Arabs and Persians coming to the East African coast. The other line of thought maintains that the language was spoken in East Africa much before the Arabs and Persians ever came.

It is the Zanzibaris who speak Swahili. Many people believe that the purest form is spoken in Zanzibar as it is the birth place of the language. The primary influences in the music in this area are Omani and Persian. Music is referred to as Taraab, which is an Arabic word.

Africa (especially West Africa) is producing quite a number of Swahili Movies. The style and cinematographic language of the Swahili Movies produced in Africa are slower and very different from movies made in the north or the west. But some of the Swahili movies are highly acknowledged works of art and often offers one a rare chance to understand African history or life in Africa as it is today.

Swahili Movies are presented as being ‘African’ because they reflect African conditions. Critics believe that the content of the Swahili Movies is the defining purpose of film production in the continent.

There seems to be almost always an implied ideological premise to the Swahili Movies. In order to understand the Swahili Movie, it is necessary to relate the dynamics of the African culture to the period in which it was produced.

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