MONANGAMBÉÉÉ
France, Angola, Algeria | 1969 | 16 min | b.w. | o.v Portuguese, Makonde
With Monangambééé, Sarah Maldoror launched a cinema that broke colonial silence through poetry and fire. Inspired by a short story by José Luandino Vieira, the film describes the arrest of an Angolan activist and the misunderstanding that seals his fate: his simple request for a “complete course” is mistaken for an encoded message. The atrocious torture that ensues is depicted with an essential, deeply human perspective. The free jazz played by the Chicago Art Ensemble does not accompany, but rather vibrates, screams, and echoes along with the bodies. The film is a political act but also an act of love for the gestures of resistance. Maldoror films pain without ever giving in to voyeurism, thus creating a work that is instantly classic in its formal radicalism. A dazzling debut. (L.F.)
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 04 Nov 2025
- Time: 12:30
Location
- Via Santa Reparata, 19R, 50129 Firenze FI
Organizer
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Sarah Maldoror
Sarah Maldoror (1929–2020) was a French director, Pan-African by adoption, revolutionary voice, and the first female filmmaker in African cinema. She chronicled the wars of liberation in the former Portuguese colonies, with a particular focus on the role of women in the struggle. After founding the first theater company of black actors in France, Les Griots, in 1956, she was assistant director to Pontecorvo for The Battle of Algiers in 1966, and then to William Klein for Festival panafricain d'Alger (1969). Her first feature film was also the first ever made by an African female director: Sambizanga (1972). Her other major works include her debut short film Monangambééé (1969), Aimé Césaire, un homme une terre (1976), Aimé Césaire – Le Masque des mots (1987), Portrait de Assia Djebar (1989), and Léon G. Damas (1994).
