A collective film assembled by Filipa César
2017, 96 min, Germany, Portugal, France, Guinea-Bissau
In 2011, an archive of film and audio material re-emerged in Bissau. On the verge of complete ruination, the footage testifies to the birth of Guinean cinema as part of the decolonising vision of Amílcar Cabral, the liberation leader assassinated in 1973. In collaboration with the Guinean filmmakers Sana na N’Hada and Flora Gomes and many associates, Filipa César imagines a journey where the fragile matter from the past operates as a visionary prism of shrapnel. Digitised in Berlin and screened and presented with a live commentary, the archive convokes debates, storytelling, and forecasts. From isolated villages in Guinea-Bissau to European capitals, the silent reels are now places from which people search for antidotes to a world in crisis. Spell Reel has been screened at Berlinale (Forum), Festival International de San Sebastian (Special Mention), Doclisboa (Special Mention and José Saramago Prize), MoMa, Art Basel, BFI London Film Festival, etc.
A collective film with Suleimane Biai, Bino Byansi Byakuleka, Onélio Cardoso, Filipa César, Braima Conté, Julio Djaló, Adama Djansane, Anita Fernandes, Flora Gomes, Joaquim Gomes, Marie-Hélène Gutberlet, Tobias Hering, Joshua Kwesi Aikins, Muhammed Lamin Jadama, Victor Lopes, Napuli Paul Lunga, Lennart Malmer, Diana McCarty, Sana na N'Hada, Dídio Pestana, Aissatu Seidi, Fátima Silva, Felismina Tavares, Sónia Vaz Borges, Jenny Lou Ziegel
Assemblage and essay: Filipa César
Cinematography: Jenny Lou Ziegel
Sound: Dídio Pestana
Producers: Filipa César, Olivier Marboeuf, Maria João Mayer Production: Filipa César (Berlin), Filmes do Tejo II (Lisbon), Spectre Productions (Paris)
Tickets can be purchased on the website of EYE