Portugal
Maputo, Mozambique
Portuguese (English Subtitles)
This short documentary film provides a perspective on the plurality of modes of urban life in present-day Maputo, Mozambique, challenging the colonial idea that the city is divided in two unequal parts, and that the formerly white “cement” corresponds to a normative urbanity that is lacking in the rest of the city. It is a montage of mostly static shots of urban space, interspersed with six short interviews with present-day citizens. The film was created with a team of 4th year students of the Bachelor in Journalism at the School of Communication and Arts of University Eduardo Mondlane.
Selected Reviews
Interesting! Some long static frame might be shorter for screening or shorts festivals.
This film chronicles Mozambique’s urban character and structures that compare colonial and the present-day city. It shows long uninterrupted scenes to show the rhythms of the city. Oftentimes interviewed subjects talk about the mismatch between the past and the present that can at first be confusing for lack of context until one gets the idea.