Country:United States of America

Director:Kenny Mann

Program:World Parallel

Summary:

The Swahili Beat is an upbeat film that looks at the history of the East African coast, tracing events from ancient times through the arrival of the first Arab settlers in the 8th century to the contemporary impact of globalization. The film is jam-packed with traditional and contemporary Swahili and coastal music and dance. The film asks this one main question: The Swahili culture has survived through many invasions, including the Omani Arabs, Persians, Portuguese, British and Germans. Will the Swahili survive the internet age and globalization.