Muongozaji wa filamu anafanya kazi leo.

Because the connector -a changes form to agree with the noun that comes before it, not the noun after it.

Here, the head noun is muongozaji (director/guide), which is in the m-/wa- noun class for people. So the connector appears as wa:

• muongozaji wa filamu = director of film / film director

If the first noun belonged to a different noun class, the connector would change:

• kitabu cha mwanafunzi = the student’s book
• gari la mwalimu = the teacher’s car

So wa filamu is correct because it agrees with muongozaji.

Yes. Muongozaji is related to the verb kuongoza, which means to lead, guide, direct.

So:

• kuongoza = to direct / to lead
• muongozaji = director / guide / leader

In the context of filamu, muongozaji wa filamu specifically means film director.

The a- is the subject marker for he/she in Swahili.

So in anafanya:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present / ongoing tense
• fanya = do

Together, anafanya means he/she is doing or he/she does, depending on context.

Since muongozaji is a singular person noun, Swahili uses the a- subject marker.

-na- is the common present tense marker in Swahili.

So:

• anafanya = he/she is doing / he/she does
• ninafanya = I am doing
• tunafanya = we are doing

In many cases, -na- can translate as either simple present or present progressive in English, depending on context.

Yes. Kufanya kazi is a very common expression meaning to work.

Literally:

• kufanya = to do
• kazi = work

But together, kufanya kazi often means simply to work.

So:

• anafanya kazi = he/she is working

It can also sometimes keep the more literal sense of doing work, but in sentences like this, working is the natural meaning.

Swahili does not normally use articles like English a/an and the.

So a noun like muongozaji can mean:

• a director
• the director

Which one is meant depends on context.

That is very normal in Swahili, and learners should not expect a separate article word before nouns.

Muongozaji belongs to the noun class that typically includes singular human beings, often called Class 1/2:

• singular: muongozaji
• plural: waongozaji

This is why person-related agreement often uses forms like:

• a- for a singular person subject
• wa- for plural people
• wa as the connector in muongozaji wa filamu

So the sentence shows agreement patterns that are very typical for human nouns.

Because filamu is just the second noun in the phrase muongozaji wa filamu, and in this sentence it does not need to change.

Many Swahili nouns are borrowed from other languages, and filamu is one of them. It often keeps the same form in singular and plural:

• filamu = film
• filamu = films

Also, the connector wa is agreeing with muongozaji, not with filamu.

Leo (today) is often placed at the end, and that sounds very natural here:

• Muongozaji wa filamu anafanya kazi leo.

But Swahili is fairly flexible with time expressions, so you can also say:

• Leo muongozaji wa filamu anafanya kazi.

That puts a little more focus on today. Both are correct.

A helpful approximate breakdown is:

• mu-on-go-za-ji

A few tips:

• muo is said smoothly, not as an English-style silent combination
• every vowel is pronounced
• Swahili words are usually pronounced quite consistently as written

So try something like:

• moo-ong-go-ZA-jee

The exact accent may vary a little, but pronouncing all the vowels clearly will already make you much easier to understand.

Yes. Swahili present tense with -na- can cover both ideas depending on context.

So anafanya kazi leo may be understood as:

• is working today
• works today

In natural English, is working today is often the better choice for a sentence with today, but grammatically Swahili does not force the same distinction English does.

You would change both the noun and the subject marker:

• Muongozaji wa filamu anafanya kazi leo. = singular
• Waongozaji wa filamu wanafanya kazi leo. = plural

Changes:

• muongozaji → waongozaji
• a- → wa-

So Swahili shows number not only on the noun, but also in agreement on the verb.