AfrikPlay no Largo | CONTRACT (Guenny K. Pires. 79′, 2010)

Debate com o realizador Guenny K. Pires

9 novembro . 19h
LARGO Café Estúdio . Lg Intendente nº 17

CONTRACT, a 79-minute docudrama film explores aspects of the African Diaspora, history and culture that are not widely known or are normally overlooked in mainstream, popular and scholarly discourse.

CONTRACT tells the compelling story of two African countries (Cape Verde and São Tome and Príncipe) forever linked by a history of poverty and slavery, and two people forever linked by the unbreakable bonds of family and love.

It tells the story of Cape Verdean indentured servants who left their homes for a better life only to be bound by “contracts” that won’t ever be paid off. The film, at its heart, also documents the filmmaker’s journey to reunite his uncle, an indentured servant as well, with his family, 44 years after leaving home on a contract. This film is not only a powerful emotional experience, it is an in-depth look into the past and the legacy of slavery.

It’s an intense journey not only for the contract workers, receiving 10 cents per day and a $10 life retirement from the São Tomé and Príncipe government, but also for the filmmaker who returns to his roots in the making of this film.

CONTRACT, was filmed in the Cape Verde Islands, São Tomé & Príncipe, Portugal, and the United States.

With archival materials and discussion from Professor Dr. Noam Chomsky, Dr. Richard Jr. Lobban, Dr. Peter Mendy, Filmmaker and Writer Ike Karnick and others, footage includes interviews with artists, historians, and contract workers providing reflections on the history, people, culture, and music of Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe.

CONTRACT was nominated for the Audience Award for Favorite Documentary during the 18th edition of the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF.)

CONTRACT became the first Cape Verdean and São Tomé & Príncipe film ever to be the recipient of an “Award For Best Documentary Filmmaking.” www.riff.org
Everyone should see this film. Narrated in English. The languages: Creole (Cape Verdean and São Tomé and Príncipe,) English, and Portuguese with English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles.