The Tanzanian film “Tug of War”, about love and politics in the final years of British colonial rule in Zanzibar, has won the Tanit d’Or at the prestigious Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia.

Africa’s oldest film festival in the capital Tunis presented a total of 170 films from around 40 countries and ended on Saturday evening with the award ceremony.

The winning film, whose Swahili title is Vuta N’Kuvute, was directed by Amil Shivji.

Two other feature films were awarded at the 33rd edition of the festival for Arab and African filmmakers.

“Under the Fig Trees” by Tunisian Erige Sehiri won the Tanit d’Argent. It deals with romantic relationships during the harvest in a Tunisian village.

The Tanit de Bronze went to “Sharaf” by German-Egyptian director Samir Nasr, who paints a somber portrait of Egyptian society through the confines of a prison.

The festival also focused on Palestinian cinema and presented Saudi Arabia – with four films – as the guest of honour.