This year, the Mostra de Cinemas Africanos will take place from September 18 to 25 in Bahia, Brazil.
The state’s capital city, Salvador, will be playing host to a lineup of seven short films and 20 feature films, including Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Banel and Adama, which premiered at the 2023 edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Speaking about the coming edition of the festival, Ana Camila Esteves, director and creator of the festival, said, “Once again, we reaffirm our commitment to bringing the best of recent African cinema to Brazil, allowing the Brazilian public to know and appreciate the richness and diversity of these cinematographies”.
This year’s edition, which will bring together projects from 16 African countries, will also welcome bring together over 50 professionals from the African and Brazilian audiovisual industries to a forum.
Other highlights include a focus on 30 years of freedom in South Africa, an examination of 30 years since the Rwandan genocide, and a celebration of the centenary of Amílcar Cabral, the revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.
“It is essential for us to address the events that marked African history,” said Esteves, “such as the traumas of the Rwandan genocide and the apartheid in South Africa, which still resonate in the imagination of filmmakers from these countries. Similarly, celebrating the centenary of revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral is a way to honor the resistance stories of African peoples as a whole.”
Romeo Umulisa, coordinator of the Africa programming, added that the event, which brings African cinema to Brazil, “has the potential to not only enrich cinematic storytelling but also to strengthen cultural ties between Brazil and Africa, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of our shared heritage”.
The festival’s guests are drawn from 11 countries this year. And the films showing at the event represent 16 countries.
