In Person and Carte Blanche:
Tsitsi Dangarembga and the International Images Film Festival for Women
November 18 to 20, 2026
Born in Mutoko, Zimbabwe in 1959, dramatist, writer, activist, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga is one of the most important female voices on the African continent. Doris Lessing called her debut novel Nervous Conditions one of the most important books of the 20th century, and her literary work has been recognized often (including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade).
Tsitsi Dangarembga is not only a border crosser between worlds and languages, who grew up between Great Britain and the former colony of Rhodesia; her artistic and political practice has oscillated for decades between the written word and the screen. In the 1990s, she studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB), produced films in Germany and, starting in 1992, in Zimbabwe with her own production company Nyerai Films. With the International Images Film Festival for Women, which she founded, and the Institute for Creative Arts for Progress in Africa, which she initiated, she tirelessly supports women building their careers in the creative industry.
Two years ago, Dangarembga was the much-publicized guest of honor at Literatur im Nebel in Heidenreichstein, Lower Austria. It was in this context that her work as a filmmaker and activist was visible for the first time in Austria. Making films, supporting productions by women, and bringing them to the big screen (in Africa and Europe) is active work in the service of democracy, peace, women's rights, and freedom of speech. We are proud to welcome a wonderful artist and her work as well as her contributions to film culture as our guest in Vienna. (Michael Loebenstein, Jurij Meden / Translation: Ted Fendt)
"Back in 1998 aspiring women filmmakers in Zimbabwe asked me to join their newly-formed organisation, founded to support their dreams of working in the sector. There was no professional training at the time. The field was completely male-dominated. I founded IIFF, which screens films featuring African women, to enable the women to see how their stories could be told, to provide a women's training platform and to centre gender issues amongst the film-going public. This selection presents two feature films which combine the personal and the political in a breathtaking and profound manner. The shorts boldly grapple with issues not often addressed in Zimbabwean productions." (Tsitsi Dangarembga)
Born in Mutoko, Zimbabwe in 1959, dramatist, writer, activist, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga is one of the most important female voices on the African continent. Doris Lessing called her debut novel Nervous Conditions one of the most important books of the 20th century, and her literary work has been recognized often (including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade).
Tsitsi Dangarembga is not only a border crosser between worlds and languages, who grew up between Great Britain and the former colony of Rhodesia; her artistic and political practice has oscillated for decades between the written word and the screen. In the 1990s, she studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB), produced films in Germany and, starting in 1992, in Zimbabwe with her own production company Nyerai Films. With the International Images Film Festival for Women, which she founded, and the Institute for Creative Arts for Progress in Africa, which she initiated, she tirelessly supports women building their careers in the creative industry.
Two years ago, Dangarembga was the much-publicized guest of honor at Literatur im Nebel in Heidenreichstein, Lower Austria. It was in this context that her work as a filmmaker and activist was visible for the first time in Austria. Making films, supporting productions by women, and bringing them to the big screen (in Africa and Europe) is active work in the service of democracy, peace, women's rights, and freedom of speech. We are proud to welcome a wonderful artist and her work as well as her contributions to film culture as our guest in Vienna. (Michael Loebenstein, Jurij Meden / Translation: Ted Fendt)
"Back in 1998 aspiring women filmmakers in Zimbabwe asked me to join their newly-formed organisation, founded to support their dreams of working in the sector. There was no professional training at the time. The field was completely male-dominated. I founded IIFF, which screens films featuring African women, to enable the women to see how their stories could be told, to provide a women's training platform and to centre gender issues amongst the film-going public. This selection presents two feature films which combine the personal and the political in a breathtaking and profound manner. The shorts boldly grapple with issues not often addressed in Zimbabwean productions." (Tsitsi Dangarembga)