Contract

The Island of Contenda

July 1999 •Portuguese

Cape Verde, 1964. At the feet of a mighty volcano, the traditional Cape Verdean society is undergoing a steady change. The old land-owning aristocracy is disintegrating. A class of "mulattos" begins to emerge, with a trade-based financial power that threatens the landlords. A new identity arises, a mix of old and new, of African and Portuguese culture, sensual and dynamic. The songs of Cesária Évora follow this inevitable transformation. From the novel by Henrique Teixeira de Sousa.

Casa de Lava

February 1995 •Portuguese

The film tells a story of Mariana, a nurse who leaves Lisbon to accompany an immigrant worker in a comatose sleep on his trip home to Cape Verde. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama.

The Other Side of the Atlantic

November 2015 •Portuguese

The Other Side of the Atlantic is a documentary that builts a bridge in the ocean that separates Brazil and Africa. The film tackles the cultural exchanges, the imaginary created through the mirroring, the prejudice and dreams built in both sides of the atlantic through the life stories of the students of african countries in transit through Brazil.

Cape Verde My Love

May 2007 •Portuguese

Praia, Cape Verde. Laura, Flavia and Bela are childhood friends. Each leads her own life and they sometimes meet to dance, dine and have fun. But one day the calm rivers of their lives break their banks and become wild torrents: Ricardo, Flavia's husband, rapes his pupil Indira, Laura's 13-year old eldest daughter. A film that takes a critical look at the lives of women in Cape Verde.

Amílcar Cabral

January 2000 •Portuguese

Documentary about African freedom fighter Amílcar Cabral, whose story is told by his relatives and friends. Amílcar, besides being a humanist and nationalist, was also a brilliant poet.

"Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?": A Cape Verdean American Story

January 2006 •English

The untold tragedy and scandal of what happened to a vibrant community of immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands in the Fox Point section of Providence, Rhode Island who were forcibly displaced by urban renewal to make way for fancy coffee shops, antique stores and elegantly restored houses. Poignant, heartfelt and warm, in a timeless snapshot SKFPR captures the essence, spirit and heart of a community whose history was erased before it was written.

The Victims of the East Wind

January 1987 •Portuguese

Film adaptation of a novel published in 1960 by Cape Verdean author Manuel Lopes.

With Almost Nothing

December 2000 •Portuguese

In Cape Verde, where the majority of the population is young, children use olive oil cans, bits of sandals, leftover tires and pieces of cardboard to build their own toys. The absence of a consumer society and the challenges posed by insularity have led them to invent their own recreational independence with almost nothing.

Morabeza

November 2018 •English

This 16mm short film undertakes a journey from slavery to ‘Morabeza’, a multi-faceted word that describes Cape Verde’s gentle spirit. Allow yourself be guided to discover the diversity and beauty of this South African country.

Cap-Vert, l'archipel créole

January 2013 •French

Cape Verdean Cranberry: The Fernandes Story

February 2025 •English

Follow the story of one family's contribution to the history that ties Cape Verdean immigrants to the cranberry industry in southern Massachusetts.

Julius Caesar - Live at Shakespeare's Globe

August 2014 •English

A live performance of the play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare. Set in ancient Rome, leading citizens Cassius and Marcus Brutus are alarmed that the power and authority Caesar is assuming may endanger the democracy of the Republic, so they conspire to assassinate the popular general. The ensuing battles and suicides extend the tragedy, establishing neither a clear-cut hero nor villain.

The Grace of Jake

February 2017 •English

Ex-inmate and wandering musician Jake travels to a small town in Arkansas intent on exacting revenge from his father, but begins to unravel a complicated family history as he befriends the locals.

Call of the Sea

October 1965 •Chinese

The son of the town bully lusts after a local beauty in this action-filled thriller of the passions and violence to be found in a fishing village.

Ugly

January 2017 •English

The story of those who are going through suffering, struggle, loss and despair, trying to find their way out of the depths.

Residente

March 2017 •English

After taking a DNA test, Latin America's most decorated artist – René Pérez (AKA Residente) – embarks on a global adventure to trace the footsteps of his ancestors and record his latest album.

Signature Move

March 2017 •English

A secret new romance with Alma forces Zaynab to confront her complicated relationship with her recently widowed mother. In this coming-of-age Muslim melodrama, Zaynab copes by taking up Lucha-style wrestling.

Spettacolo

September 2017 •English

Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th–anniversary performance just might be its last. SPETTACOLO tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world.

Flesh Avenue

April 1986 •English

After the death of her father, Nelia (Jaclyn Jose) goes to find her mother and discovers that she owns a whorehouse.