Sambizanga
Southeast Asian Premiere
Sarah Maldoror Angola 1972 97 min PG13 (Some Violence and Brief Nudity)
On the cusp of Angola’s independence, a woman treks across Luanda to seek and demand the release of her incarcerated husband.
Maria shares a blissful life with her husband Domingos Xavier, a tractor driver and member of the Angolan anticolonial resistance. Their peace shatters when Domingos is brutally seized by the Portuguese secret police. As Maria sets out to locate him, with their baby strapped to her back, a subterranean network of informants and militants across Angola mobilises to support her.
An adaptation of José Luandino Vieira’s 1961 novel, The Real Life of Domingos Xavier, Sambizanga pays tribute to the overlooked contributions of women, children and elders in the fight for Angola’s independence. The film was made in direct collaboration with members of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. Remarkable for its striking mise-en-scène and political fervour, this restoration brings fresh life to the only completed narrative feature film by Sarah Maldoror and one of the first feature films made in Africa by a female director.
5 Dec, Thu 7:30PM / 97 min
Oldham Theatre
AT THE FEST!
All screenings are on a free seating, first-come, first-served basis. We kindly ask all ticket holders to arrive on time. Latecomers may not be guaranteed entry.
RUSH QUEUE:
For last-minute attendees, good news. Our Rush Queue is back this year!
Sambizanga
Sarah Maldoror
Angola
1972
Portuguese, Lingala, Kimbundu
English
97 min
PG13 (Some Violence and Brief Nudity)
Southeast Asian Premiere
Sarah Maldoror
Sarah Maldoror was a prolific political activist, theatre-maker and filmmaker of Caribbean and French descent. A pioneering figure in pan-African cinema, her work saw a surge in interest and acclaim following her death in 2020. Her first short film, Monamgambée (1968), also set in Angola, was screened in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 1971.
Jacques Poitrenaud
Elisa Andrade,
Domingos de Oliveira,
Jean M’Vondo
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at L’Image Retrouvée (Paris) from the 35mm original negatives, in association with Éditions René Chateau and the family of Sarah Maldoror. Funding provided by Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the FEPACI and UNESCO—in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna—to help locate, restore and disseminate African cinema.
