IFFR x LV - 50 jaar onafhankelijkheid Kaapverdië

When the Portuguese regime left Cape Verde in 1975, they destroyed many infrastructures on the islands, including the film industry. As a result, the film infrastructure has remained limited for the past 50 years, with only two islands having access to a cinema. But thanks to the passion and dedication of the Cape Verdeans, the film culture is gradually being rebuilt.

The focus of this programme is on the contributions of female filmmakers to Cape Verde’s cinematic heritage – highlighting the pride, joy and imagination, both past and present, and the special bond between Cape Verde and Rotterdam, where the Cape Verdean diaspora played a crucial role in the decolonisation of the country.

We start the evening with the short documentary Cap-Vert, un carnaval dans le Sahel (1979) by Sarah Maldoror, who is considered the first black female filmmaker in Africa. This film – one of the first representations of Cape Verdeans in the early years of independence – will be followed by the Dutch premiere of Hanami by Denise Fernandes. Hanami won Fernandes the Best Emerging Director Award at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival and is a sincere, cinematographic testimony to the imagination of both the current generation of Cape Verdean filmmakers and the younger generations within the diaspora.