Saturday, June 8th, 7pm

Sara CF de Gouvei (language – English) South Africa/Portugal, 2018, 70 min.
It’s a story of resistance and of keeping cultural identity alive through the arts as director Sara CF de Gouvei spotlights one man, Atanásio Nyusi, and his devotion to preserving Mozambique’s anti-colonial history through dance. Nyusi’s passion is Mapiko, a form of masked dance from Makonde culture that involves telling stories and sharing history through artistic expression.
The film draws upon new interviews with Nyusi as well as archival images that chart Mozambique’s history under Portuguese rule, while clips of the Mapiko dances performed before and after the nation’s independence in 1974 chart the art form’s culture of resistance. As de Gouvei and Nyusi convey, Mapiko was banned during the decade-long war of independence because of its anti-colonial spirit and power.

This program is part of the African Film Festival.