Independência (Independence)

synoposis

The documentary Independence was born out of the need to preserve history (and the stories) of participants in the struggle for the liberation of Angola. Many are still alive and lucid, but few have documented their journey or had the opportunity to talk about what they experienced, outside their family circles and friends.

The film is the result of the project Angola – Pathways to Independence, which brought together the audio-visual producer of Geração 80 and Associaçāo Tchiweka de Documentaçāo (ATD), an institution dedicated to preserving documents and disseminating the history of struggle.

about the director

Fradique is considered one of the most celebrated and expressive voices in contemporary Angolan cinema. His first feature film Air Conditioner (2020), had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and participated in more than forty international film festivals, receiving ten awards. 

As a filmmaker and one of the founders of the Angolan collective Geração 80, Fradique is an advocate of cinema from the Global South. He has been a part of various panel discussions at international film festivals and universities focusing on African cinema, colonial archives, film collectives, and urban filmmaking. He is also an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus (2011) and the Realness Institute Screenwriting Residency (2017). Fradique currently lives in Berlin where he is writing and developing his new feature film.