Unal is a village in Guinea-Bissau, where essential food is confronted with memories of the war. This is a land of rice producers, who were the ones in the front line during the struggle for freedom from colonial ties who were castrating their country, mobilizing their ancestors (known as "Iranians") in the armed revolt that still marks the memories of that time today.
From plowing to harvesting, every step of rice cultivation is full of war memories, which still influence the day-to-day life of the village and have an impact on it ..... rituals, bodies, landscapes... and techno music.
In the aftermath of the armed conflict, a group of soldiers is possessed by a messianic vision nicknamed "The Shadow", who granted them the power to predict the future and heal villagers, using bush plants and talismanic writings.
'Fogo no Lodo' (Fire in the Mud) is made by Catarina Laranjeiro and Daniel Barroca.
The session will take place on April 5th, at the National Anthropology Museum (Av. da Ilha da Madeira, Lisbon), at 10.00. Free admission. After the screening of the documentary, there will be a debate with both directors, as well as the writer Amadu Dafé and the filmmaker and writer Onésio Soda.
Organisation: CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies.