Mortu Nega, Flora Gomes, Guinea-Bissau, 1988, 85’
A mythical film, the first fiction film in Guinea-Bissau’s history. Flora Gomes had trained at the Instituto Cubano de Cine in the seventies, under the watchful eye of the great filmmaker Santiago Alvarez. Upon her return to her country, her first film was a documentary on the figure of freedom-fighter Amilcar Cabral. That film is now an essential part of the country’s film heritage. Mortu Negra was her first work of fiction, after several militant documentaries. In 1973, during the Guinea-Bissau war of independence, Diminga, a young, 30 year-old woman, joins her husband Sako on the front. As she presses forward with troops across the savanna, she discovers a country in ruins, with death everywhere. The ravages of colonialism are evident everywhere. So too are the strength and joy of a people that have risen up in arms to fight for its freedom. The war ends, and little by little a feeling of hope for the future begins to prevail again, and it appears that peace will slowly heal the wounds of the past. But a new scourge will soon mercilessly unleash itself on Diminga’s town.
A mythical film, the first fiction film in Guinea-Bissau’s history.