CULTURE, ARTS PROMOTE TANZANIA, CHINA TIES

WITH a view to further promoting the healthy relations between Tanzania and China, the two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in culture and film fields.

 

The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Prof Elisante Ole Gabriel, said the move would create more jobs to the youth from both countries.

“Culture, film and art fields are catalyst to strength the long fruitful friendship between China and Tanzania,” he noted, while officiating China-Africa film and television carnival in the city yesterday.

The event was organised by StarTimes Tanzania. Expounding further, he said the move will not only promote Tanzanian culture, but also the national language, Kiswahili.

The PS called on film makers, actors and actresses to use Chinese language subtitles in their films to grab opportunities available in China.

In a bid to grab opportunities in international film market, Ole Gabriel urged the Chinese government to support the country with technological equipment and promote capacity building among actors and actresses.

He said the move will help produce more reality films about the two countries. The event was also attended by China’s Vice-Minister of State Administration of Press Publication and Radio, Film and Television, Tong Gang.

StarTimes Vice-President, Guo Ziqi said through StarTimes decoder, Tanzanians will have the chance to see some of the Chinese films translated in Kiswahili and get the chance to understand Chinese lives and culture.

“Through films, people will easily understand lives and culture of particular society. Some of Chinese TV stations have programmes of Tanzanian cultures and some of the tourist attractions in the country, therefore, give Chinese people the chance to understand Tanzanians culture and traditions,” she said.

According to her, they recently carried out competition to find out Tanzania youth who can enter Kiswahili voice in Chinese films, one of it being ‘the monkey’.

“Ten Tanzanian youth had employment opportunities to input voice in some of Chinese films, this is evidence how film industry cooperation between the two countries can create more employment opportunities,” she noted with concern.