Fishers of Dar

A film by Lina Fruzzetti, Akos Ostor and Stephen Ross

Fishers of Dar explores the continuity and integrity of traditional fishing practices in contemporary Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Dar es Salaam is a metropolis of three million people, yet the city's demand for fish is entirely met by equipment and methods practiced there for centuries.

The film takes the viewer to the city harbor's pier and fish market and to a small fishing community nearby. The story begins before dawn, with small sailboats and bigger diesel-engined boats leaving for fishing grounds. After fishing, they return to unload and sell fish at market, auction or retail establishments. We also see fast food preparation, home-based work and leisure activities in the fishing community.

The film shows the hundreds of people who make a living in the process, before reaching the customer. We see fishermen and women, boat builders, boat crews, auctioneers, laborers and vendors. Not least are the women who come with buckets, buy and clean small fish and go home by bus to sell fried fish in the hundreds of smaller markets of the city. Recently the market was demolished to provide for expansion of the harbor. The age old process continues but under difficult new conditions.

37 min. Video or DVD. Sale $250. Video rental $65.

African Studies Association, 2003
Festival of Anthropological Films, Parnu, Estonia, 2002
Zanzibar International Film Festival, 2002
Ann Arbor Film Festival, 2002
Golden Dhow, Zanzibar Film Festival, 2002