Integrated into the CPLP International Audiovisual Conference, which marks the ten years of the CPLP Audiovisual Program, the Imaginários da Lusofonia Showcase brings together films from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste. The initiative presents different Portuguese-language cinematographies and stories that cross cultures, memories and social realities, affirming the audiovisual as a space for dialogue between the CPLP countries. The program reflects and debates on the future of Lusophone audiovisual, cooperation between countries and the opportunities for co-production and circulation of works. Program: November 9: 8 pm | Opening session. Do Outro Lado do Mundo (From the Other Side of the World). By Rui Sérgio Afonso. Angola | Documentary | 52 min. Two women, two love stories that cross continents. From this and the other side of the world, both find the courage to change destiny and cross cultural borders in the name of happiness. The first step has been taken, the future remains open. November 10: 8 pm. A Felicidade de Margô (Margô's Happiness). By Maurício Eça. Brazil | Fiction | 52 min. Based on real facts, from a chronicle by Drauzio Varella. Margô, a sex professional of humble origin, has known exclusion and the margin since childhood. With passages evoking the protagonist's past, the film restores her dignity as a whole character. November 10: 9 pm. Canhão de Boca (Mouth Cannon). By Ângelo Lopes. Cape Verde | Documentary | 52 min. “Canhão de Boca” was Amílcar Cabral's expression for Rádio Libertação, a weapon more powerful than any arsenal. The documentary fictionalizes a radio program that crosses two voices: Amélia Araújo, who spread the ideals of the struggle for independence between 1964 and 1973, and Rosário da Luz, who today makes critical information a form of resistance. Their struggles belong to different times, but they share the same essence. Choosing radio as a vehicle, the film asks why we continue to fight and proposes that one's own thinking is the first freedom. November 11: 8 pm. Paraíso Ameaçado (Threatened Paradise). By Domingos Sanca. Guinea-Bissau | Documentary | 54 min. The Bijagós archipelago, in Guinea-Bissau, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, recognized for the extraordinary richness of its fauna and flora. But the discovery of oil casts a shadow over this rare balance.
Through two characters who follow, on community radio, a debate on the subject, the documentary gives voice to local communities and to the expectations and fears that oil exploration awakens. A portrait of a natural paradise at the moment when its future is decided. November 11: 9 pm. Origens e Descendentes (Origins and Descendants). By Pedro Mba Ndong. Equatorial Guinea | Documentary | 53 min. A teacher challenges his students: to discover the origins of their own ethnicity through music. From there, the documentary sets out in search of the roots of Equatorial Guinean society, shaped by centuries of migrations that brought together in the Gulf of Guinea six distinct peoples: fang, bubis, ndowe, annobonese, bisios and fernandinos. November 12: 8 pm. O Dia em que Explodiu Mabata Bata (The Day Mabata Bata Exploded). By Sol de Carvalho. Mozambique | Fiction | 54 min. Adaptation of a short story by Mia Couto, spoken in Changana. Azarias is a young orphan shepherd who dreams of going to school. He guards the herd of his uncle Raul, where the ox Mabata Bata stands out, part of the dowry of an upcoming wedding. When the ox steps on a mine from the war and explodes, the boy flees to the forest fearing reprisals. November 12: 9 pm. A Casa (The House). By Rui Simões. Portugal | Documentary | 54 min. Created by the Estado Novo to monitor students coming from the colonies, the Casa dos Estudantes do Império, in Lisbon, ended up becoming decisive in the independence struggles. Future leaders of the liberation movements passed through there, such as Agostinho Neto and Amílcar Cabral. The documentary recovers the memories of those who lived in the Casa, intertwining their testimonies with fictional excerpts from A Geração da Utopia, by Pepetela. The fascinating story of a place where the purpose for which it was founded was completely reversed. November 13: 8 pm. Motxi Obô, The Death of the Forest. By Ramusel Graça. São Tomé and Príncipe | Documentary | 52 min. “Motxi de Obô” means “Death of the Forest”. The equatorial forest of São Tomé was classified as one of the most important in Africa for birds and holds hundreds of medicinal plants. But unregulated exploitation slowly threatens it. November 13: 9 pm. A Criança Roubada (The Stolen Child). By Lurdes Pires. Timor-Leste | Documentary | 54 min. During the occupation of Timor-Leste, thousands of children were taken from the country. In 1978, at eight years old, José survived a bombing that killed his family members and was taken to Indonesia. Decades later, reunited with his family, he prepares to return with his wife, Sri.
Given up for dead, he was “liberated” in an animist ceremony. To belong again to the world of the living, he will have to go through another ritual. Between two nations, two religions and two families, the film makes of the reunion a reflection on reconciliation and forgiveness. Free entry, subject to room capacity. Free.