SKIFF is a 10-day festival that includes projections of films, contemporary and hip hop dance workshops, film and screenwriting workshops, and artisitic performances. It is Congo’s only international film festival and brings together activists for peace from across Africa, Europe, and America.

The opening ceremony included the recognition of Justine Masika Bihamba who won the 2009 Pax Christi Peace Award and the 2009 Human Rights Defender Tulip Award. Y !Dance performed a 30 minute contemporary dance performance choreographed by Sekombi Katondolo which shocked the crowed with its originiality and talent. The film projections of the evening include Mbasa by Modogo, a Congolese filmmaker, and Blind Date by Cyril Dicotte.

Twenty-three youth hip hop groups from Goma danced off to inaugurate the pre-Salaam Kivu International Film Festival (SKIFF) events. All the groups practiced for months before this big day in hopes that they would be one of the seven groups chosen to participate in the SKIFF 2009 dance competition set for October 25th.

More than 250 dancers attended the event that was judged by two international professional dancers and two Congolese dancers. The seven groups will dance off again on SKIFF’s hip-hop day which last year attracted more than a thousand people. The winning group will have the chance to travel to Kinshasa to participate in a national competition.

The runner-up will dance in 10 locations across North Kivu province in areas that have been severely affected by the war. The youth of Goma are ready to show their talent and are ready for peace!