Mozambique: ‘Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret’ scoops top award in Cape Verde

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Mozambique: ‘Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret’ scoops top award in Cape Verde

2:38 CAT | 01 Dec 2020

Image: Grafo Audiovisual

João Ribeiro’s film takes Best Fiction Feature in the seventh edition of Plateau -Praia International Film Festival in Cape Verde.

It was a bad year for motion picture ‘Grandma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret’, which had its international and national debut about seven months ago. Not being able to be shown in movie theatres because of the coronavirus, few have been able to see it, and the promotion of Mozambican fiction itself was “compromised”. But, at the end of the year, João Ribeiro had some good news: on Sunday night, his film was awarded Best Fiction Feature in the 7th edition of Plateau-Praia International Film Festival in the Cape Verdean capital.

Referring to the award, the director said that “it is always good when a film receives a prize, regardless of the type of festival and where it takes place. It is always a recognition for our work. For this reason, it is a pleasure to receive the prize”, especially in a difficult year such as this. “Films are made for theatres, and festivals have changed their dynamics a lot. There is a difference in the presentation of the contents, and it has been a bit more difficult for the life of this movie. We hope that next year things will change, and that the film will return to theatres and continue to do the festival circuits.”

For João Ribeiro, the award is excellent news because it will stimulate interest in the film.

“This is good for Mozambican arts and cinema, since we make so few films,” he said. Likewise, the director explained that film festivals go hand in hand, so that when a film gets an award, its visibility increases at cinema events both inside and outside the country.

Because of Covid-19, João Ribeiro still doesn’t have a date for his film’s commercial release, which depends not only on the producer, but on those showing it. “We have little strength in that regard. The cinema owners have to approach the producers and acquire their films. Obviously, we also do our part, including talking to them. But the last word is always with whoever has the cinema.”

While commercial theatres still have not received Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret, the public will be able to see the film at the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Centre in Maputo – firstly in a free session for children at 10:30 am next Saturday, and then at two ticket-only showings scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. As for taking the film to the people using a cultural centre, Ribeiro clarified: “Our cinema is not looking for profit, but to tell a story. Cinema in Africa has its way of being, its dynamics and its way of being.”

Ribeiro says the awards may help to obtain more support from the public and private sector in the country, because they attract attention. “When you win a prize, there is always a movement around that, and that movement can be used to that end. If a work is awarded, the entities that support it also feel recognised,” he explains.

‘Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret’ is an adaptation of Ondjaki’s novel of the same name, published in 2008, which won the Brazilian Jabuti prize in the Youth Literature category and was shortlisted for the Portugal Telecom prize.

The story, inspired by the author’s childhood memories, is set in Luanda’s Praia do Bispo neighbourhood in the 1980s, during the construction of the mausoleum of Agostinho Neto, Angola’s first president.

‘Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret’ enjoyed financial support from the Ibermedia programme, Brazil’s Ancine agency, and the Portuguese Film and Audio-visual Institute (ICA).

Special Jury Prize for ‘I am the author of my name – Mia Couto’, directed by Solveig Nordlung

The Plateau -Praia International Film Festival distinguished another movie “about Mozambique”, granting the Special Jury Prize to “I am the author of my name – Mia Couto”, by Solveig Nordlund (Portugal). The movie is a documentary about one of Mozambique’s best known writers, Mia Couto; an intimate portrait of the man, his memories, his process and his formative figures.

Likewise, the Cape Verde event recognised ‘Luis Humberto: The Possible Look’, by Mariana Costa and Rafael Lobo (Brazil), with the Best Short Documentary Prize; Neguinho/ Blackie, by Marçal Vianna (Brazil), with Best Short Fiction Prize; and Manuel d’Novas – Poet’s Heart, by Neu Lopes (Cape Verde), with the Best Documentary Feature Award.

The festival jury was composed of Pedro José-Marcellino, Suely Neves and Patrícia Silva.

The Plateau-Praia International Film Festival is held annually in the Cape Verdean capital in late November and aims to promote local, regional and PALOP cinema, democratising access to cinema with public sessions in the different Praia neighbourhoods.

By Jose dos Remédios

Source: O País