AfricAvenir presents Namibian premiere of ‘Agostinho Neto’

Next Wednesday, AfricAvenir will premiere the Angolan documentary ‘Agostinho Neto’ at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre. The premiere starts at 18:30 and the director, veteran filmmaker Orlando Fortunato de Oliveira, will be in attendance. The documentary is 56 minutes long and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the director. The entrance fee is N$20. Synopsis Agostinho Neto was one of the most important figures of the movement for the liberation of Angola. As founder of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), he experienced many intense years in the fight for the liberation of his country. This is a documentary about a man, a poet, a humanist who was in some ways a hero as well. Using archive material, the testimony of his friends and the recreation of some episodes in his life, this documentary attempts to paint the picture of the personality and figure that was Agostinho Neto. About the director Orlando Fortunato de Oliveira was born on March 20, 1946 in Benguela, Angola. He is one of the pioneers of Angolan cinema. As a director, his films portray the era of colonialism. A graduate of the Catholic University of America in sciences and geophysics, he turned to cinema and released his first film, ‘Um Caso Nosso’, in 1978. In 1981, he resumed studies at the London International Film School and made several documentaries. ‘Memória de um Dia’ in 1982 tells the story of the Bengo Icolo massacre, carried out by the Portuguese in 1960. In 1989 he made his first feature film, ‘Comboio da Cañhoca’ (The Train of Cañhoca), but for geopolitical reasons it was not shown for over fifteen years. In the meantime he made a few documentaries, such as ‘Agostinho Neto’ in 2000. In 2010 he completed ‘Batepá’, which is set in Sao Tome and Principe. The film is centred on the local colonial relations: segregation, repression, torture and political killings, which culminated in 1953.