Cast


			The Stars



	"SAMEHE" Amandina Lihamba

One of the world's greatest actresses, Amandina Lihamba gives a riveting performance as Samehe, the mental patient undergoing an unusual spiritual journey with the ancestor Maangamizi. The passage takes her back into her childhood where she is forced to relive the brutal experience that led her into the mental institution. The journey also encompasses a visit to the underworld where she comes face to face with her much feared father.




	'DR. ASIRA BarbaraO


	Asira faces many challenges in Africa. Coming from the shores of the Mississippi where spirits are abundant and roots can be worked on anyone for a price, Asira guards her own secrets which, if uncovered, will send her mind spinning beyond its attempts at 'rational' self-control.




		'Bibi Maangamizi' Mwanajuma Ali Hassan

	Mwanajuma Ali Hassan of Zanzibar plays the timeless ancestor Maangamizi (which means the 'destroyer'), for it is from the ashes that she brings new life. It is fitting that her home is the ancient and dormant volcano Mt. Meru in the Kilimanjaro region.




	'Dr. Odhaimbo' Waigwa Wachira


	Waigwa Wachira plays the Tanzanian doctor who pursues non-Western methods of treatment in spite of being trained in America with his colleague Dr. Asira.




		'Waigwa' Kisaka A. Kisaka


	In a striking vignette, Kisaka portrays the dominating father who, through the vehicle of his Christian ministry is obsessed with righteousness.




	'Zeinabu' Thecla Mjatta


	Thecla Mjatta offers a commanding performance of the mother who was struck down in her prime, now living out the other side of her life in a self-imposed exile, void of all hope until the entreaties of her daughter force her to come to terms with her existence.


		See featured presentation: Chemi's Story



'Nurse Malika' Chemi Che Mponda Kadete



	'Young Samehe' Zeinabu Bafadhili




				'Young Asira' Mgine



		'Twins' Sada & Siwema Muhamedi


	DR. MOSHI - Adam S. Mwambile


	NURSE SHIRIKIANA -Hyasinta Tungaraza-Msomi

		NURSE CASTA - Christa Kombo

'Sr. Francis
Janet Fabian

'Simba Mbili
Samahani M. Kijeri

'Mariamu'
Mona Mwakalinga

These three are a powerhouse and each of them have an incredible respect for each other. Amandina Lihamba is the Chair for the Dept. of Theater at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. Having studied Drama at Yale and performed with the Negro Ensemble Company, Amandina toured with the Broadway hit, The River Niger. Thecla Mjatta once told us "Amandina could have played all the characters in Maangamizi." We agree. Amandina Lihamba is one of the most talented and gifted actresses on the planet. Thecla is nothing to sneeze at either. And Bibi Mwanajuma Ali Hassan? Watch!




		'Dr. Asira & 'Samehe'


	BARBARAO, (Dr. Asira) has acted in numerous independent films including Haile Gerima's Bush Mama. She is probably best remembered for her role as "Yellow Mary" in Daughters of the Dust. A filmmaker in her own right she now teaches in Atlanta and is completing a documentary on healing.