Discoveries from São Tomé & Príncipe World Cinema

A Western-like documentary set in a remote rural region in Lesotho: a frontier space where the ways of modern society are of little, if any, value. The arrival of economic migrants from China has irrevocably upset the balance of power, as old laws and ancient gods are doddering away. Subtle moments and small gestures reveal the trauma of expatriation, the burden of personal sacrifice, solitude and alienation, as well as the painful experience of otherness. As old structures begin to disintegrate and violence is about to erupt, one rule asserts itself above all others: eat or be eaten.

A thrilling high seas adventure feature documentary where two marine conservation captains from Sea Shepherd go on a hundred day chase of the illegal poacher and pirate fishing vessel, the Thunder.

The search to prove that surfing is an African sport by traveling to the remote island nation of Sao Tome.

A film about a paradise through the eyes of those who live there. From the weight of Leve Leve to the sour of Doce Doce.

Two storylines involving artists in lockdown intersect in this South African drama about creativity, mindfulness and wellbeing. Jabu is an ambitious auteur plagued by demons, who accepts a place on the jury at a film festival in Johannesburg so he can be closer to his young son. He has been clean for months now, and is working on the side as part of the scriptwriting team for the most popular soap in South Africa. All with the aim of becoming the father he previously failed to be. Roxanne is a filmmaker on the verge of her international breakthrough, struggling with an unwanted pregnancy – which in South Africa cannot legally be terminated.

An itinerant preacher proclaims to people that their god is in the very coffin he is dragging along.

A wave filmed in slow motion. 16mm film, colour, no sound, 2'43"

After four years of independence and since his father was captured, a boy finds himself alone in the world filled with pride, wickedness and evil, when his brother leaves for the Liberation Army camp to avenge his father's legacy.

A conversation between an older, HIV positive woman and her niece. The women talk about what it means to be a woman, mother, elderly and HIV positive in Lesotho. They speak about love, marriage, motherhood, inter-generational sex and health systems in the context of HIV in Lesotho.

An exploration of an island dominated by violence and ghosts, where the only solution for the return to peaceful coexistence, between the world of the living and that of the departed, is to settle the debts of the past.

Mugged Off strikes back! In a thrilling tale that shows the events that take place after Mugged Off.

In a tropical paradise on the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, Manu, a Giant Obô Snail, struggles for survival against the intruder Kwame, a Giant Land Snail from West Africa. Will Manu be able to protect his territory and ensure the survival of his species, or will Kwame triumph over him?

The story is an allegory, combining narrative aspects of comedy films, documentary films, fairy tales, and road movies. The story starts with a dying old woman, who is calling for her distant son. Her calls take solid form in the shape of a giant breadfruit, which falls from the sky right in front of her son's residence. Realizing that this is a message from his mother, the son sets out to find her and takes the fruit with him. His trek across the island involves interactions both with people who are either amused or disturbed by his abnormal fruit, and with those to whom the fruit seems to an answer to their "fantasies", "desires and dark longings".

Proposes a speculative meeting between the Baron of Água Izé, the first nobleman in the Portuguese colonies of the 1800s who was of mixed European and African ancestry, and Maria Correia, the Black Princess of Príncipe Island in the 1700s. Reanimating them through the bodies of contemporary artists, the film uses dance, poetry and music to weave profound threads between the past and the present. Transcending space, time and language, their encounter wrestles with questions of culpability, power and the exploitation of both land and Black bodies.

Third in the Sãotomense horror trilogy.

"Shepherds" shows how cattle are a constitutive element of the entire social life in Lesotho, a tiny country enclaved within the territory of South Africa. Cows have a deeply symbolic and material significance, and owning them is thus of very great value. The film was made in a jail where cattle thieves are held. They relate episodes from their lives and talk about why they are there.

Tónia is an outgoing, sensitive and cheerful girl who dreams of being a journalist. Her life changes when her mother sends her to her uncles' house in the city, where she begins to suffer abuse. With so many obstacles, will Tonia reach her big goal?

In the small, sleepy town, a seemingly ordinary mug sits quietly on a kitchen counter. However, this isn’t just any mug, it’s an ancient relic, believed to have been crafted centuries ago by an unknown artisan. Throughout the beautiful, touching film, the mug appears to possess a strange, almost magical quality, whenever it is held, the characters experience moments of clarity or inspiration. For a young writer struggling with self-doubt, the mug sparks a burst of creativity that propels them to complete their long-overdue novel. Mugged Off is a heart-warming exploration of how the simplest of objects can carry profound meaning, weaving a story of love, loss, and the quiet power of everyday life.