SIFF Says: Zanzibar is just about to wrest its independence from the UK—it’s a tumultuous time for a freedom fighter and an Indian-Zanzibari woman fleeing an arranged marriage to fall in love.

Stranger Says: It is not an accident that one of the most fascinating pop stars of the 20th century, Freddie Mercury, was born in Zanzibar. This island, which is a part of the nation of Tanzania, is one of the most fascinating places on earth. And so there is no surprise in the fact that one of the few features from Zanzibar, Amil Shivji’s Tug of War, contains no scene or actor who does not hold our fascination. The film, which concerns the island's post-war revolutionary period, follows the fate of two young rebels (one black African, one South Asian African) who fall in love in an interesting time and place. CHARLES MUDEDE