Compiled from comments from: Thawer, Roxy [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
I am delighted that the most loved cinema tradition in Zanzibar is still kept alive with enthusiasts such as yourselves. As you know that the records on Zanzibar's history are pretty spotty and scattered because of the dispersion of generations of inhabitants as the political climate changed suddenly in 1964. I was born in Zanzibar in 1954 and left in 1967. But my heart is still there. The reason I write is that I find a missing piece in the records of history regarding the origins of cinema in Zanzibar. I wondered if the African Cinema conference might be the right place to pay tribute to the entrepreneurial efforts of my grandfather (Abdulla Thaver...better known as Abdulla Masi) who brought Cinema to Zanzibar. Born in 1899 and better known by his nickname Masi he gave up his job as an accountant started with a 100 Shilling projector, a bed sheet for a screen and an open rooftop where he charged one shilling all round for the movies.....From there he built Empire and Sultana (now called Cine Afrique) Cinemas, and even the Majestic which, after a fire, he sold to his partner Badru Gozi who rebuilt it. He managed the Empire whilst my dad Mohamed Thawer (better known as Moh'd Masi) managed the Cine Afrique (the current manager Hussein used to work with him). Abdulla Masi was an amazing man; unassuming and private he had the rare quality of a very good businessman with a big, generous heart.... We only found that out at his funeral in 1966. I was 12 and remember it vividly when countless strangers came to us with stories of how he helped them. Ask any of the local elders (who were born there) in Zanzibar and I'm sure they know him. I have seen many different accounts of Zanzibar's history on the internet and in books...I have not seen a single mention of how cinema came to Zanzibar and transformed it. As you can imagine an introduction of a new communication media is a major transformation in any place and I am proud of being a small part of it through my ancestry. Until recently (~1999), Abdulla Masi's photo hung in his old office in Empire Cinema. I took it when I visited Zanzibar after 30 yrs. I believe the cinema is no more.......maybe I shouldn't have removed it. Copies of his photo are available from [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to african-cinema-conference as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, forward this message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
