MARIGHELLA

After fighting censorship for two years in Brazil, MARIGHELLA became #1 at the Box Office in Brazil.

Marighella is a new Brazilian action drama set in 1969 based on the life of Afro-Brazilian politician and guerrilla fighter Carlos Marighella. Facing a violent military dictatorship and with little support from a timid opposition, writer-turned-politician Carlos Marighella organizes a resistance movement. Alongside revolutionaries 30 years younger than him and willing to fight, the revolutionary leader opts for action. The film is adapted from the biography Marighella - O Guerrilheiro que Incendiou o Mundo, by Mario Magalhaes. Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor Seu Jorge plays Carlos Marighella.

Directed by Wagner Moura, 2019, Brazil, 155min, historical action drama, Portuguese w/ English subtitles

* Berlinale 2019 | Official Selection - Out of Competition
* INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT CRITICS PRIZE (Premio Giuseppe Becce)
* ONE OF SCREEN CRITICS' TOP FILMS FROM BERLIN 2019

"Angry and brutally necessary for the Brazil of today, Marighella is put together coolly and confidently by the green [Wagner] Moura." ~ One Room With A View

"Marighella works fine as an exciting and highly assured debut, with a terrific ensemble cast at its heart." ~ Hollywood Reporter

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THE EXCEPTION AND THE RULE

MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRAILER from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

MASAI: THE RAIN WARRIORS 

MESTIZO 

Minga and The Broken Spoon Trailer - ArtMattan from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MINGA and the Broken Spoon

A charming animation for the entire family, this African fable tells the story of Minga, an orphaned girl living with her stepmother MamiKaba and her stepsister Abena. One day, when she washes the dishes in the river, she accidentally brakes a spoon. A furious MamiKaba chases her away from the house, asking her to find the only identical spoon hidden by her late mother. An adventurous journey then begins for Minga in the forest.

 Minga and the Broken Spoon is the first feature-length animated film entirely conceived and produced in Cameroon and is loosely based on “The Broken Spoon,” the famous African tale. The film is a vibrant tribute to Cameroon’s rich cultural diversity, while being a source of entertainment for the young and old alike.

By Claye Edou, Cameroon, 2019, 80 min, animated film with two audio tracks: English and French (with English subtitles).

Mother Suriname – Mama Sranan is a deep and evocative portrayal of Suriname's history and the personal story it weaves. Its effectiveness in bringing Surinamese history to life, makes it a significant contribution to understanding the country's cultural and historical landscape.

A woman looks back on her life, through narration and song. In Mother Suriname – Mama Sranan, filmmaker Tessa Leuwsha uses a stream of fascinating colorized archival footage to illustrate the lives of Surinamese women like her grandmother, who was a washerwoman.

She’s born in a hamlet in 1905 to a white mother and a black father—a disgrace. Her father is forced to leave and her mother also disappears. She’s despised as a half-caste, does not go to school and soon becomes aware of the state of colonial relations (“we work and they watch”). She has a child whose father is always elsewhere, working for the Dutch. Determined to make the most of her life, she moves to Paramaribo, where she has three more children she raises on her own.

Meanwhile, she sees her homeland moving towards more self-esteem. Before Suriname’s independence in 1975 however, all her children move to the Netherlands—and she eventually follows them, with sorrow in her heart: “In Holland, paradise is like a shadow, just in front of you or behind you, never with you.” Still, strong-willed as she is, she finds a place where she connects with her homeland, her spiritual roots and herself.

"Not only a biography but also a portrait of a colony on the road to independence." ~ Pauline Kleijer for De Volkskrant 

"A breathtaking journey through the history of Suriname." ~ Guus Schulting for De Filmkrant

Directed by Tessa Leuwsha, 2023, 71 minutes, Documentary, Netherlands, Dutch (with English subtitles) or in English

MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS

MOTO TAXI, Narcisse Wandji's first feature film, explores questions and concerns related to the daily life of three Cameroonians, two men and a woman, who manage to make a living working as motorcycle taxis.

Sani, Marie and Franck are three young moto-taxi drivers with unique destinies and stories. Sani has to face Charles, his employer and also father of Samedi, his girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child. Marie, raped five years ago, tries to find Tom, her rapist. And Franck, on his side, must do everything to get rid of the lifeless body of an 8 month old child.

In Moto Taxi, Narcisse Wandji refers both visually and through the dialogues in his film to some important auteurs in African Cinema. Quartier Mozart by Jean-Pierre Bekolo is mentioned casually in a conversation while a Moto Taxi driver explains that the corn on his motorcycle was inspired by Djibril Diop Mambety’s Touki Bouki.

“These references reassure the cinephiles looking for cinematic innovation. The question of cultural identity remains at the heart of the auteur’s work while he/she strives to give a universal feel to his/her creation. “ Pierre Patrick Touko.

Directed by Narcisse Wandji, Cameroon, 2021, 90 mins, drama, French (with English subtitles)

Music Pictures: New Orlean Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

Music Pictures: New Orleans gives us legacy portraits and a rare backstage access into the lives and craft of four New Orleans music legends: Grammy-winning vocalist known as “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas; Little Freddie King, one of the last original bluesmen who at the age of 81 still performs live; the world renowned Tremé Brass Band, a fixture in the New Orleans jazz community; and Ellis Marsalis - father of internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis - the patriarch of the famed jazz family who helped found the modern jazz scene in the 1950s. 

Music Pictures: New Orleans is a vibrant documentary exploring the rich musical heritage of New Orleans. It showcases the city’s diverse musical landscape, from legendary jazz clubs to lively street performances, highlighting the influences of Creole, African American, and French cultures. The film delves into how historical events, including Mardi Gras and Hurricane Katrina, have shaped the city’s music scene. Through interviews with local musicians and historians, it reveals music's role in the city’s cultural and social fabric, celebrating genres like jazz, blues. This documentary offers an insightful glimpse into the resilience and cultural dynamism of New Orleans, making it a valuable resource for those interested in music history and cultural studies.

Directed by Ben Chace, 2022, USA, 72 Min, Documentary, English

"Music Pictures: New Orleans is a pleasantly entertaining, early 2020s snapshot of four influential artists in blues and jazz." - Culture Mix

"Sometimes if you’re tired of documentaries that try to push a one-sided political message, a musical documentary can fix that. The documentary Music Pictures: New Orleans is an insightful documentary of a town with a century of a music legacy." ~ Jon The Blogcentric.org

" Music Pictures: New Orleans is a great documentary showcasing musicians, both individuals and groups, and how their sound has an impact not only on the sounds of New Orleans but on musical genres as a whole. It’s as much about its past legacy as it is about its present and future." ~ Jon The Blogcentric.org

Experience the essence of jazz and blues in two captivating documentaries! Music Pictures: New Orleans by Ben Chace features legends like Irma Thomas and Ellis Marsalis, while Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band by Carol Bash delves into the life of the groundbreaking Mary Lou Williams.

Music Pictures: New Orlean Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS

Music Pictures: New Orleans gives us legacy portraits and a rare backstage access into the lives and craft of four New Orleans music legends: Grammy-winning vocalist known as “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas; Little Freddie King, one of the last original bluesmen who at the age of 81 still performs live; the world renowned Tremé Brass Band, a fixture in the New Orleans jazz community; and Ellis Marsalis - father of internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis - the patriarch of the famed jazz family who helped found the modern jazz scene in the 1950s. 

Directed by Ben Chace, 2022, USA, 72 Min, Documentary, English

MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRAILER from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

MYOPIA

Fatem, sixth month pregnant, leaves her village perched in the mountains, to fill a frame with empty glasses for the elder of her village, the only person who can decipher the letters sent by members of the villagers’ families who have gone to work in the cities. She moves from station to station to arrive in town in the middle of a protest. This will turn her trip into a peaceful revolution that she is hardly aware of.

Directed by Sanaa Akroud, Morocco 2020, 86min, drama, Arabic w/English subtitles

"A beautifully observed meditation on faith, perseverance and integrity, Moroccan director Sanae Akroud’s sophomore feature is an immersive and heart-breaking unique female saga. " ~ The Brazilian

"This film, which carries beautiful qualities of image and lighting, speaks of poverty, of the feminine condition and of a happiness so simple that one can hardly grasp its meaning nowadays. ~ La Presse

"Fatem is played by Sanaa Akroud, also the film's director. Akroud was in the acclaimed 2011 Egyptian film "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story". In "Myopia" she is brilliant as our unsettlingly passive villager, whether inquiring about a letter from an absent husband or when wandering innocently through the city in search of an eyeglass shop." ~ Barbara Nimri Aziz

"She will be questioned by the police, defended by an association, interviewed by a journalist… She is accused of having endangered her baby, she is asked some of the most intrusive questions, but each person applies their own way of thinking - myopia of a society incapable of perceiving its difference. Agressive police officers falsely accused, activists urging her to press charges, sensationalist journalist who transforms news, even a listening minister… none understand that she only wants to fix the glasses." ~ Olivier Barlet

"It is in listening to these women that Sanaa Akroud wrote this script which she both interprets and directs. Apart from the interviews, she does it with few words. Wolfango Alfi's sequence shots respond to this desire to account for the time taken by everyday acts. They contribute to the open-mindedness called for by this film without a clear message, if not to invite people to understand that an equivocation is not a limit but a complexity." ~ Olivier Barlet

"This story is sure to resonate with many American viewers learning about the depth of racial disparities and the flaws in U.S. democracy where agents of ‘liberal’ society and opposition parties once again reach out to Black and Brown Americans and immigrants with shallow promises of equality and reform." ~ Barbara Nimri Aziz

NAMES
LIVE NOWHERE

Director: Dominique Loreau
From: Belgium
Year: 1994  Minutes: 76
Language: French with English subtitles
Genre: docu-drama

In this film whose title is a Senegalese proverb, a griot (story teller) traveling from Dakar to Brussels weaves a tale about African expatriates and offers a candid look at the life of African immigrants in Belgium. With Sotigui Kouyate - a real life griot - as the story teller.

16mm rental: $250
DVD sale: $195

Naomi's Journey Trailer - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

NAOMI'S JOURNEY

Twenty-year old Naomi lives a simple life with her younger siblings in Peru. Only her big sister seems to live a life of fortune, being married in Germany. But now she is dead, murdered by her German husband.

Stunned by the news, Naomi can't imagine accompanying her mother to Germany, the land of the crime. But then she changes her mind, becomes a joint plaintiff, and takes part in the trial in Berlin.

In Naomi's Journey Frieder Schleich (Otomo) continues to explore the life of immigrants in Germany.  His staging of a realistic trial using real-life lawyers illustrates the inner working of the German justice system and its dispassionate proceedings. 

"The film follows the murder trial of a young South American woman within the framework of a hidden women and marriage trafficking market. The film is about justice and objectivity in the German legal system." ~ Hof international film festival

Directed by Frieder Schlaich, 2018, Germany / Peru, 93min, legal thriller, German and Spanish with English subtitles.

"The director composes a haunting puzzle about moral standards, trust and cultural clashes." ~ Brazilian Press

"Rising star Scarlett Jaimes gives a compelling performance in the title role presenting the turbulence of a fragile young lady with brilliant nuance." ~ Brazilian Press

"It's a gripping, accurate courtroom drama." ~ Brazilian Press

NATAL DA PORTELA

NELIO'S STORY 

THE LAST TREE tells the compelling coming-of-age story of a Black British boy of Nigerian descent in London.  In GLORIOUS EXIT Jarreth Merz, a Swiss-Nigerian actor living in Los Angeles, is summoned to Nigeria to bury his father.

THE LAST TREE

Femi, a British boy of Nigerian descent who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire with his white foster mother, moves to inner London to live with his Nigerian mum.

Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take, and what it means to be a young black man in London.

Going back home to Nigeria with his mum to find his Nigerian roots will help adolescent Femi find grounding and hope for a better future.

Directed by Shola Amoo, 2019, UK, 98 min, drama, English.

Second film in DVD:

GLORIOUS EXIT

NIGHT OF DESTINY 

NO TIME TO DIE 

Official Selection ACID Cannes Film Festival 2023!

Nome is a historical drama directed by Sana Na N'Hada and written by Virgílio Almeida and Olivier Marboeuf. The story takes place in Guinea-Bissau in 1969, during the war of independence between the Portuguese colonial army and the guerrillas of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea.

The protagonist, Nome, leaves his village and joins the ranks of the guerrillas. After years of struggle, he returns to his village as a hero. However, the initial joy soon gives way to bitterness and cynicism.

By Sana Na N'Hada,  Guinea-Bissau/France/Portugal/Angola, 2023, 117min, Drama, Portuguese w/ English subtitles

"Nome  is a film over 50 years in the making. In the late 60s, revolutionary Bissau-Guinean Marxist leader Amílcar Cabral sent filmmakers Sana na N’Hada, Flora Gomes, Josefina Lopes Crato and José Bolama to Cuba. To help change international public opinion against the Portuguese colonial regime, they returned to the country to document the struggle. This archive footage forms the basis for the fiction Nome, N’hada following its eponymous character as he joins the resistance movement. 

Perhaps Cabral, had he lived to see this movie (assassinated in 1973), would be disappointed, as Na N’hada, returning to one of his first filmmaking projects, complicates a simple resister narrative into a more complex tale of post-colonial legacy and the true cost of war. Things get particularly messy when the occupation is over, colonial occupation giving way to corruption and petty gangsterism on the streets of Bissau, issues that have plagued the country until this day. 

Independence, it seems, is just the start. " ~ ACID Cannes 2023

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH 

OTOMO 

PAPA'S SONG

Paris Noir - African Americans In The City Of Light series intro trailer from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

PARIS NOIR: AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS

PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET 

POWER ALLEY / LEVANTE

The compelling Brazilian drama - 2023 Cannes Film Festival Semaine de la Critique selection - Power Alley (Levante) by Lillah Halla is a poignant exploration of the challenges faced by young women in contemporary Brazil, particularly around issues of reproductive rights and gender identity.  It tells the story of Sofia (17), a promising volleyball player from a humble suburb of São Paulo in Brazil who, on the eve of a future-defining championship, is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Seeking an illegal termination, she becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her at any cost.

The film delves into the challenges Sofia faces in her community, dominated by conservative values. Her extraordinary talent offers her a glimpse of a different life, but she soon finds herself at a crossroads when unforeseen circumstances threaten her future.

The narrative explores themes of community, resilience, and self-expression, as Sofia and her diverse group of friends, who are rebellious and supportive, navigate these trials. Their solidarity and collective strength form the core of this vibrant and emotionally charged story, showcasing the power of unity and defiance in the face of adversity. This film is a testament to the fierce spirit of youth and the unyielding pursuit of freedom and agency.

"A punchy, confrontational energy infuses this celebration of queer sisterhood in the face of Brazilian conservatism,"  ~ Screen Daily

"The context of the team environment being a highly queer space, complete with trans and non-binary players... gives the notion of overcoming an unwanted pregnancy a unique charge: with a far-right, Bolsonaroist group catching wind of her situation as neighborhood gossip circulates...," Cineuropa

​"...This spirited feature debut from Lillah Halla is a vivid, dynamic piece of filmmaking driven by the sparky connections between the teammates and a terrific, pulsing electronic score," ~ Screen Daily

Brazil/France/Uruguay, 2023, 99 mins, drama in Portuguese (With English subtitles), Lillah Halla, dir.