Afro-Latino Films

SUSANA BACA; MEMORIA VIVA

SUSANA BACA; MEMORIA VIVA

Regular price $245.00
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SUSANA BACA: MEMORIA VIVA

DIRECTED BY MARC DIXON
PERU ND BELGIUM / 2003 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 54 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Susana Baca is not only a champion in the performance and preservation of Afro-Peruvian heritage, but also an elegant singer whose shimmering voice sings of love, loss and life. Susana and her husband Ricardo Pereira have founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo “Black Continuum” in Lima, a spirited facility for the exploration, expression, and creation of Black Peruvian culture. While Baca has dedicated herself to researching and performing virtually all forms of Afro-Peruvian folklore, it is the lando that has become her trademark. This slow to mid-tempo, highly evocative mix of Spanish, Indigenous and African rhythms has become what the son is to Cuba, or the samba to Brazil--the lando is the sound of Black Peru.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Marc Dixon
 

GENRES

  • Musical Documentary
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AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

Regular price $295.00
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Two exciting, colorful films spotlight the African roots of Cuba's culture by focusing on two legendary artists -- Rumbero Papa Montero and Filmmaker Sara Gomez -- in this unique box set.

THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO / LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO

Get ready to rumba! The life of Cuba s last great rumbero is detailed in THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO, a bold story that captures Cuban traditions and culture through beautiful imagery, sensual music, and the most scorching Latin dance ever invented. Afro-Cuban mythology serves as the force behind the narrative as mythic figures guide the characters through the events of the story.

| Cuba/Martinique | 1992 | 52 mins | docu-drama in Spanish with English subtitles | Octavio Cortazar, Dir. |

“Montero is a celebration of rumba as heart and soul for a colorful Cuban landscape." - SLANT

 

SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER

Acclaimed filmmaker Sara Gomez comes to life in the rich, multilayered documentary SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER. Though trained in ethnography, Gomez became the first female Cuban filmmaker. Her background shaped her films, which reflect her interests in Afro-Cuban cultural traditions and women s issues. Friends and family members recall her talent, intelligence, and generosity. Ultimately SARA GOMEZ is a love story between Sara and her husband (filmmaker Germinal Hernandez), Sara and her family, and Sara and her culture.

| Cuba/Switzerland | 2005 | 76 min | documentary in Spanish with English subtitles | Alessandra Muller, Dir. |

"[SARA GOMEZ] is an extremely important documentary.... " - Kwame Dixon, SCOPE

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LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO)

LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO)

Regular price $295.00
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LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO) 

DIRECTED BY OCTAVIO CORTAZAR 
CUBA AND MARTINIQUE / 1992 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 52 MIN

SYNOPSIS

A fascinating film on the rhythmic dance genre known as Rumba, La Ultima Rumba de Papa Montero dances around the life of Papa Montero, one of the famous rumberos of Cuba, assassinated during carnival. A discovery of Cuban traditions and every day life told through beautiful images, sensual music and dance. The use of Afro-Cuban mythology is the force behind the characters as orishas guide the characters' fate.

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Nick Hughes
Starring: Eric Bridges Twahirwa
Starring: Cleophas Kabasita 
Starring: Davis Kagenza 
 

GENRES

  • Docu-drama 
  • DVD Afro-Cuba: Yesterday and Today which also includes Sara Gomez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker.
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THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA

THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA

Regular price $295.00
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THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA

DIRECTED BY Stephanie James, Steve James
CUBA/ 2008/ ENGLISH, FRENCH & SPANISH with ENGLISH SUBTITLES/HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY/ 52 MINS
SYNOPSIS

The Black Mozart in Cuba is the latest act in the rehabilitation of the memory of this extraordinary human being. The film skillfully combines biographical information with performances of his works.

Born in Guadeloupe of a Senegalese enslaved woman and a French nobleman, Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), became one of the most remarkable figures of the 18th century. He influenced the music and political life of his time. He was a genius composer and conductor, a virtuoso violinist, the best fencer in Europe, as well as the first black general in the French army. For 200 years after his death his music was rarely heard, due in part to Napoleon’s efforts to erase his existence from history. Today, his music is being rediscovered and played by orchestras and music groups around the world. In this documentary, Cuba dedicates a week of cultural activities to his memory and welcomes Saint Georges as “a great hero of the Caribbean.”



DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Stephanie James, Steve James
 

GENRES

  • Historical Documentary
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PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET

PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET

Regular price $195.00
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PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET 

DIRECTED BY SERGIO GIRAL 
CUBA / 1986 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 96 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Placido portraits the dramatic story of Gabriel de la Concepcio Valdes (Placido), a mulatto Cuban poet accused of leading a conspiracy against the Spanish colonial government. Preoccupied by the development of Afro-Hispanic artist and craftsmen of the mid XIX century, Placido was executed after living a short and controversial life as a man between two races and between a cruel reality and a dream of freedom.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Sergio Giral
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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NATAL DA PORTELA

NATAL DA PORTELA

Regular price $195.00
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NATAL DA PORTELA

DIRECTED BY PAULO CEZAR SARACENI
BRAZIL / 1988 / PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 100 MIN

SYNOPSIS

The name ‘Natal da Portela’ is historically attached to the cultural identity of Brazil. Natal da Portela created the first escola de samba in Rio de Janeiro. The schools of samba are the soul of carnival in Brazil and major reservoirs of Afro-Brazilian culture. The film depicts the life of Natal da Portela as a young man from the favelas--the slums of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro--up to the creation of “la Portela”, the school of samba he created. The principal role played by Milton Goncalves, one of the major Black actors in Brazil, gives the story an authentic flavor rarely seen in films portraying the contemporary life of Black people in Brazil. This is a film filled with joy, music and laughter. “Natal da Portela” is also a film that narrates the story of contemporary Brazil and the legacy of African people in that country. Several other major actors enrich the story, Zeze Mota well known for her role in “Quilombo” and the dean of Black Brazilian actors, the great Grande Otello much remembered for his major role in Rio Zona Norte and Macunaima just to mention a few titles.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Paulo Cezar Saraceni
Starring: Zezé Motta
Starring: Milton Gonçalves
Starring: Almir Guineto
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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MALUALA

MALUALA

Regular price $245.00
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MALUALA 

DIRECTED BY SERGIO GIRAL
CUBA / 1979 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 95 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Maluala takes us into a palenque, a settlement of escaped slaves hidden somewhere in Cuba's eastern mountains, where discord is sown between black "kings" by clever subversives working for the Spanish government.

"Sergio Giral is the best known of the Black Cuban directors and his previous films were historical observations of the period of slavery in Cuba, the gradual rise of rebellion against colonial traditions, and the ultimate freedom that resulted. Maluala is the most striking addition to this genre. The action takes place during the last century in the region of Maluala. Gallo, the black chieftain, together with his cohort, Coba, present a petition for land and liberty to the colonial government. Governor Escudero offers liberty if the rebellious villages will be dismantled and their men offer themselves in surrender. He promises that they will be freed shortly thereafter. Three chieftains agree, but Gallo and Coba refuse... Giral has mounted Maluala with colorful ritual and acting. Samuel Claxton, as Gallo, is highly stylized in the heroic tradition. It is an absorbing adventure film wrought from historical events which appear violent, but Giral constantly implants into every image the necessity for unity among people in order to combat man's seemingly casual desire to subjugate mankind, in the struggle for power and undefined ambition." 
~ /San Francisco Film Festival, 1980/

"The historically lucid intrigues of Maluala (1979), where the Afrocentric leadership of fugitive palenque communities is pitted against each other COINTELPRO-style by Spanish colonists, is one of those Cuban films that were forged in a righteous, red-hot ferment but still found the courage and wit to ask questions about the society around them." ~ Gary Dauphin, The Village Voice

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Sergio Giral
Starring: Samuel Claxton
Starring: Adolfo Llauradó
Starring: Raúl Pomares
 

GENRES

  • Historical Drama 
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LA PLAYA D.C.

LA PLAYA D.C.

Regular price $295.00
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LA PLAYA D.C. 

DIRECTED BY JUAN ANDRES ARANGO GARCIA
COLOMBIA/BRAZIL/FRANCE / 2012 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 90 MIN

 

SYNOPSIS

Tomas,an Afro-Colombian teenager who fled the country's Pacific coast pushed out by the war, faces the difficulties of growing up in a city if exclusion and racism. When Jairo, his younger brother and closest friend disappears, Tomas plunges in the streets of the city. His search becomes an initiatory journey that compels him to face his past and to leave aside the influence of his is brothers in order to find his own identity. Through this journey, Tomas reveals a unique perspective of a vibrant and unstable city that, like Tomas, stands on the threshold between what once was and what might be.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Juan Andres Arango Garcia
Starring: Luis Carlos Guevara
Starring: Jamés Solís
Starring: Andrés Murillo
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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WHITE LIKE THE MOON

WHITE LIKE THE MOON

Regular price $145.00
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WHITE LIKE THE MOON 

DIRECTED BY MARINA GONZALEZ PALMIER
U.S.A. / 2001 / ENGLISH / 23 MIN

SYNOPSIS

A Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. White Like the Moon is a revealing film about a dilemma not very well known outside Latino communities; that of the myth of the light skin superiority in Indigenous and Indigenous descendant communities.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Marina Gonzalez Palmier
Starring: Misha Aziz
Starring: Diana Burbano
Starring: Crystal Leah Chacon
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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MESTIZO

MESTIZO

Regular price $195.00
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MESTIZO 

DIRECTED BY MARIO HANDLER 
VENEZUELA / 1989 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES  / 82 MIN

SYNOPSIS

The action takes place in a village on the Venezuelan coast, a place of fishermen and big haciendas. Jose Ramon, son of a white aristocrat and a humble black fisher-women, is trying to define his own identity while dealing with social and sexual conflicts, power, culture, the law, and the impossible relationship he has with both his parents.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Mario Handler
Starring: Marcos Moreno
Starring: Zezé Motta
Starring: Aldo Tulian
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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BLACK & LATINO

BLACK & LATINO

Regular price $345.00
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Two films that  explore the Black & Latino experience.

Set in the USA, INVISIBLE COLOR: AFRO-CUBANS IN MIAMI is a documentary about the history and  living experience of Afro-Cubans in Miami.



MESTIZO is a drama set in 1940 Venezuela about the conflicted identity of José Vargas, the  illegitimate son of a white colonial administrator and a poor black  fisher-woman.

INVISIBLE COLOR:  AFRO-CUBANS IN MIAMI

This latest documentary by the Dean of Afro-Cuban Cinema, Sergio Giral, investigates the black Cuban exile community in South Florida, since the first wave of political refugees in the 1959 revolutionary aftermath, to today. It tracks its presence throughout the region, and highlights its contribution to Miami’s civic culture through testimonies and visual documentation.

Directed by Sergio Giral / 2017 / USA / Cuba / English and Spanish with English subtitles / 47 min.

MESTIZO

The action takes place in a village on the Venezuelan coast, a place of fishermen and big haciendas. Jose Ramon, son of a white aristocrat and a humble black fisher-women, is trying to  define his own identity while dealing with social and sexual conflicts, power, culture, the law, and the impossible relationship he has with both his parents.

Directed by Mario Handler / 1989 / Venezuela / Spanish with English  subtitles / 82 Min.

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BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

Regular price $395.00
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Two films that explore the life of black people in Latin America.  BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA is the first Mexican feature film about the Afro-Mexican community, THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS is a documentary about Afro-Chilean struggle to organize the first African census in the history of Chile.

 

BLACK MEXICANS / LA NEGRADA

Black Mexicans Trailer Eng Sub - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

DIRECTED BY JORGE PEREZ SOLANO
MEXICO/ 2018/ 104 MIN / DRAMA  IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH


SYNOPSIS

 

Black Mexicans (La Negrada) is the first Mexican feature film about the Afro-Mexican community, filmed entirely with people from different towns around the Costa Chica in Oaxaca.

Neri, a fisherman, splits his time between two women: his wife Juanita with whom he has a daughter and his lover Magdalena, mother of three additional children. Things are about to change for Neri as Juanita falls gravely ill and Magdalena prepares to take her place.

Shot entirely in the beautiful beaches of Corralera in Oaxaca and featuring a cast of non-professional actors from the nearby communities, Black Mexicans explores the social mores of and the discrimination faced by Mexico’s little known black community.


THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

 

In the Azapa Valley (Chile), an oasis in the driest desert in the world, a group of descendants of enslaved men and women brought from Africa are organizing the first African census in the history of Chile. Their aim is to get official recognition from the State that has concealed their culture and African identity for more than 200 years.

Directed by  Ric.hard Salgado, Chile, 2017, 52 min, documentary, Spanish with English subtitle.

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BLACKS IN EUROPE

BLACKS IN EUROPE

Regular price $445.00
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Two documentaries that explore the life of black people in Europe. GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES is a documentary that explores the contribution of Africans to Spain from the 15th to the 18th  centuries.THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA celebrates the The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a remarkable man who lived in France in the 18th century.

GURUMBE

Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture. Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form. As the black population began to diminish in Spain in the late 19th century, so too did their contribution to this extraordinary art form. In Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories, their story is finally told.
Directed by M. Angel Rosales, 2016, Spain/Mexico/Portugal/Senegal, documentary, 72min, Spanish and Portuguese w/ English subtitles.

 

 

BLACKS MOZART IN CUBA

Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), became one of the most remarkable figures of the 18th century. He influenced the music and political life of his time. He was a genius composer and conductor, a virtuoso violinist, the best fencer in Europe, as well as the first black general in the French army.

Directed by Steve James, Stephanie James, 2008, 52 min, Guadeloupe, Documentary, English, French, Spanish with English subtitles.

 

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AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS

AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS

Regular price $395.00
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Revealing films about two very important Afro-Brazilian figures:

* Abdias do Nascimento (March 14, 1914 - May 23, 2011) was an outspoken and vibrant defender of Afro-Brazilian civil rights.
* Natalino Jose do Nacimento, better known as Natal Da Portela (July 31, 1905- April 5, 1975) was one of the founders and major sponsor of the Portela Samba School in Rio de Janeiro, champion of the 2017 Carnival parade.

ABDIAS DO NASCIMENTO

Loving and revealing documentary about Afro-Brazilian scholar/writer/activist /politician Abdias do Nascimento (1914-2011), a significant figure in and leader of Brazil’s Black movement who founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and was very active in the international Pan-African Movement.
Directed by Aida Marques, 2011, 95 min, Brazil, Documentary, Portuguese with English subtitles.

NATAL DA PORTELA

The name ‘Natal da Portela’ is historically attached to the cultural identity of Brazil. Natal da Portela created the first escola de samba in Rio de Janeiro. The schools of samba are the soul of carnival in Brazil and major reservoirs of Afro-Brazilian culture. The film depicts the life of Natal da Portela as a young man from the favelas--the slums of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro--up to the creation of “la Portela”, the school of samba he created.

Directed by Paulo Cezar Saraceni, 1988, 100min, Brazil, Drama, Portuguese with English subtitles.

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DENYING BRAZIL

DENYING BRAZIL

Regular price $245.00
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DENYING BRAZIL 

DIRECTED BY JOEL ZITO ARAUJO 
BRAZIL / 2000 / PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 92 MIN
SYNOPSIS

A documentary film about the taboos, stereotypes, and struggles of Black actors in Brazilian television "soaps." Based on his own memories and on a sturdy body of research evidence, the director analyzes race relations in Brazilian soap operas, calling attention to their likely influence on Black people's identity-forming processes. 

"As a sociological dissection on how popular entertainment can shape racial prejudice and help to build racial justice, 'Denying Brazil' is a strong and significant work of intelligence."  - Phil Hall, Filmthreat

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Joel Zito Araujo

 GENRES

  • Documentary
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CANDOMBE

CANDOMBE

Regular price $195.00
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CANDOMBE

DIRECTED BY RAFAEL DEUGENIO 
URUGUAY / 1993 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 16 MIN  
SYNOPSIS

More than two hundred years ago, there was an influx into Uruguay of enslaved Africans whom, after being freed, continued to make up the poorest and most marginalized strata in society. Fernando Nunez, a black man, a musician, and a maker of drums, sees himself as the heir to "Candombe", an important social and cultural legacy from his enslaved forefathers.  The official history and culture of Uruguay, on the other hand, which has never acknowledged this contribution to the degree which it deserves, continues to marginalize expressions of black culture. Fernando Nunez and his friends from the Barrio Sur back street quarter of Montevideo have decided to fight to keep these important cultural roots alive in the consciousness of the Uruguayan people.

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Rafael Deugenio
 

GENRES

  • Docu-drama
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ABOLICAO

ABOLICAO

Regular price $345.00
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Abolicao.mp4 from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

ABOLICAO

DIRECTED BY SOZIMO BULBUL 
BRAZIL / 1988 / PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 150 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Aboliçao is a startling look at the racial situation of Black Brazilians in contemporary Brazil. The director asks the following question to Black Brazilians from diverse walks of life -- musicians, politicians, activists, people in government, ambassadors, social workers, sport stars, actors, street kids, farmers, etc… -- “We are celebrating 100 years since the abolition of slavery in Brazil, what does the abolition of slavery mean to you?”… Divided in sections addressing political, economic, social and cultural issues, Aboliçao contributed to a new analysis of the Black experience in Brazil. An indispensable title to have in a library for the study of the Black presence in Latin America.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Sozimo Bulbul
Starring: Camila Amado 
Starring: Benedita da Silva
Starring: Abdias do Nascimento
 

GENRES

  • Documentary

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ABDIAS DO NASCIMENTO

ABDIAS DO NASCIMENTO

Regular price $295.00
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ABDIAS DO NASCIMENTO 

DIRECTED BY AIDA MARQUES
BRAZIL / 2011 / PORTUGUESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 95 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Loving and revealing documentary about Afro-Brazilian scholar/writer/activist /politician Abdias do Nascimento (1914-2011), a significant figure in and leader of Brazil’s Black movement who founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and was very active in the international Pan-African Movement.

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Aida Marques
 

GENRES

  • Documentary
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