A Memory in Three Acts
Carte blanche – Pedro Pimenta
Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, following a bloody struggle that lasted more than a decade. In three acts (plus a poetic prologue and epilogue), some of those who lived through it tell their story about the struggle for independence.
A former political prisoner returns to the building named Villa Algarve, where he was tortured – though dilapidated now, it is still maintained as a monument to what took place. There were many who did not survive the torture. We also get to hear the other side of the story, as told by the daughter of an agent of the secret police who was murdered before her eyes following the fall of the Portuguese dictatorship. This mix of archive footage, shots of present day and the pervasive soundtrack give us the feeling that past and present are inextricably linked. The oral testimonies bear witness to a multifaceted colonial trauma, and the wounds are still fresh.
(idfa.nl)
Inadelso Cossa is a Mozambican film director, cinematographer, producer, and the founder of 16mmFILMES, an independent film and television company based in Mozambique. His work explores different phases of Africa’s, particularly Mozambique’s, history from a personal perspective. Investigating the Colonial, Post Colonial, Independence, and Post Civil War periods, Cossa finds it his duty to document what he refers to as ‘acts of memory.’
16mmFILME
Inadelso Cossa
inadelsocossa@gmail.com
