Cape Verde, 1964. At the foot of a mighty volcano, traditional Cape Verdean society is undergoing a gradual transformation. The old landed aristocracy is disintegrating. A class of "mulattos" emerges, with financial power based on trade, threatening the great landowners. A new identity was born, blending tradition and modernity, African and Portuguese culture, in a dynamic that was both sensual and vibrant. Cesária Évora's songs accompany this inevitable transformation.
A co-production by Vermedia (Portugal), Saga Film (Belgium), MBSA (France), RTP (Portuguese Radio and Television) and the Cape Verdean Film Institute. With the financial support of the Portuguese Institute of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Art and the Ministry of the French Community of Belgium, the European Commission and the participation of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Cooperation. With the support of Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Direction Générale de la Coopération and Institut de la Culture et de la Langue Portugaise.
Directed by: Leão Lopes
Cast: João Lourenço, Camacho Costa, Filipe Ferrer, Fernanda Alves, Betina Lopes, Luísa Cruz, Mano Preto, Cecília Guimarães, Pedro Wilson, Teresa Madruga, Luis Mascarenhas
Screenplay: Leão Lopes, based on the novel "Ilhéu da Contenda" by Henrique Teixeira de Sousa
Music: Manuel Paulo Felgueiras
Producer(s) : Paulo de Sousa
Co-producer(s) : Hubert Toint, Maurice Brover
Production manager(s) : Ana Costa
Director of photography: João Abel Aboím
1 AD: Leandro Ferreira
Casting: Patricía Vasconcelos
Costumes: Teresa Campo
Make-up: Emmanuelle Fèvre
Hairstyling: Dina Chorão
Live sound: Francisco Veloso
Image editing: Denise Vindevogel
Sound editing: Denise Vindevogel
Sound mixing: Thomas Gauder
Awards
Aviles International Film Festival, Spain, 1996: Best European Community Film Award
Fespaco, 1997: Award for Best Film Music
Nominations / Selections
Valencia Festivals, 1996
Amiens Festival, 1996
