Short Film Program:

Cap-Vert, un carnaval dans le Sahel (Cape Verde, a Carnival In the Sahel)
Sarah Maldoror, Cape Verde 1979, 15 min. French and Portuguese with English subtitles, digital

Fogo, île de feu (Fogo, Fire Island) - Excerpt
Sarah Maldoror, Cape Verde 1979, 32 min. French and Portuguese with English subtitles, digital

A Bissau, le carnaval (Carnival in Bissau) - Excerpt
Sarah Maldoror, Guinea-Bissau 1980, 18 min. French and Portuguese with English subtitles, digital  

Introduction by Annouchka de Andrade

A few years after Cape Verde Islands and in Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule, Maldoror made three short films about carnival there. The production of the films was supported by the revolutionary government of the PAIGC. In Cap-Vert, un carnaval dans Le Sahel (Carnival in the Sahel), the filmmaker focuses on the significance of the popular culture of carnival for the history of the black population in the struggle against colonialism and racism. Through the colors and textures of the costumes and figures, the celebrating crowds and the music, Maldoror addresses concepts of identity and blackness. Annouchka de Andrade will talk about the restoration work on the carnival trilogy and show excerpts from Fogo, l'île de feu (Fogo, fire island, 1979) and À Bissau, le carneval (Carnival in Bissau, 1980). The new version of the trilogy will premiere at the Il cinema ritrovato festival in Bologna at the end of June 2024. (GB)