Mamã Guiné - A Alma da Guiné Bissau

Overview

"Mamã Guiné" celebrates the reconstruction of the identity of the people of Guinea-Bissau, divided by ethnicities and languages, yet united by the legacy of the land that saw their birth and the resounding of the drum. The richness of this cultural diversity finds its greatest and most profound expression once a year, during the Nturudu Carnival. It is the largest Carnival in Africa, the country's greatest cultural manifestation, and the greatest symbol of national unity. This film follows the preparation of various groups for the grand celebration, from the making of masks and costumes, to the selection of their queens and the rehearsal of their typical opening speeches. With a series of interviews with people involved in the celebration, artists, musicians, ethnologists, and local historians, the film questions political instability, poverty, and current controversies, but always dancing barefoot on the earth and to the sound of the drum, the greatest symbol of ancestry.