“Ruminating valuably on the nature of cultural belonging and exclusion,
it’s amiably laid-back [and] lusciously shot”
— Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Self-aware, warm and open-hearted.”
– Jay Weissberg, Variety
AN AMIABLE PORTUGUESE SLACKER TAKES A ONE-WAY TRIP
TO CAPE VERDE TO DISCOVER HIS ROOTS IN AN AFRICAN ODYSSEY BRIMMING WITH COLORFUL CHARACTERS, STUNNING SCENERY AND GROGUE-FUELED ENCOUNTERS
DJON ÁFRICA
Street Date: August 25, 2020
DVD/Digital: $24.95
The Festival Favorite – the Debut Scripted Feature from Portuguese Documentarian Duo, Filipa Reis and João Miller Guerra, Will Also Be Available Via Streaming Platform IndiePix Unlimited on Amazon Channels
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Miguel (Miguel Moreira) — a.k.a. Djon África — a likeable aspiring musician with a knack for smooth talk, is coasting listlessly through a life of construction work, petty shoplifting and womanizing in Portugal. After coming into a little money, he impulsively decides to find his roots on the islands of Cape Verde, off Africa’s northwest coast, in search of his father. Though he identifies as African, he’s never visited – all he knows is what his grandmother has told him: that, long ago, his father was deported to Cape Verde. Once in the capital, Praia, however, Miguel hits a dead end when he learns the aunt he was hoping would help him has been dead for a year. With vague information about some relatives who live in another town, he sets off across the island. But soon, the locals and their ways –especially the consumption of grogue, a powerful rum-based liquor — weaken his resolve, and he begins to give himself over to the island’s rhythms, immersing himself in a deeply pleasurable African odyssey brimming with colorful characters, boozy encounters and some requisite soul-searching.
The debut scripted feature by Portuguese documentarian duo Filipa Reis and João Miller Guerra stars non-professional actor Moreira who appeared in the pair’s 2010 DocLisboa winner, Li Ké Terra. With an array of prickly locals and the pictorial beauty of Cape Verde serving as backdrop, DJON ÁFRICA, a laidback picaresque road trip, is a breezy, Grogue-fueled delight.
A festival favorite around the world, DJON ÁFRICA earned accolades from audiences and critics alike. Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter said, “Cinema will seemingly never run out of stories in which sons go in search of their missing/lost fathers, but if the results were always as charming as Joao Miller Guerra and Filipa Reis’ ambling picaresque Djon África, few audiences would complain.” Wendy Ide of Screen Daily writes, “Like its central character, the film has a leisurely, slightly woozy appeal… It’s not hard to see why, having already made a film about Moreira, Reis and Miller Guerra decided to work with him again. With his amiable demeanour and his dreads cantilevering at crazy angles, he’s a striking and likeable presence. His laugh – booming, generous, infectious – crashes through the film like a wave breaking on one of the islands’ beaches… The warmth in his encounters with the people of Cape Verde is wholly persuasive.” And, Joe Blessing of The Playlist says, “Through the expressive performance of Miguel Moreira and the keen eye of the directors, Djon África is a terrific evocation of a character and of a place through his perspective. Reis and Guerra bring to life the beauty, people, textures, and (stunningly shot) landscapes of Cape Verde as well as the difficulty of finding home.”
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/Digital (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google)
Running Time: 95 minutes
Genre: World Cinema/Drama
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
Audio: Stereo
Language: Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese with English Subtitles
THIS AUGUST, JOIN INDIEPIX FILMS FOR A MEDITATIVE DOCUMENTARY PORTRAIT FOLLOWING THE LIVES OF A
PORTUGUESE FISHERMAN AND HIS FAMILY IN VILLA FRANCA,
AN ANCIENT RIVERFRONT VILLAGE OUTSIDE LISBON
TERRA FRANCA
Street Date: August 25, 2020
DVD/Digital: $24.95
This Observational Award-Winner – the Feature-Length Debut from
Leonor Teles, the Youngest-Ever Recipient of the Berlin Golden Bear and
Part of a New Wave of Portuguese Filmmakers — Will Also Be Available
Via Streaming Platform IndiePix Unlimited on Amazon Channels
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
In an ancient riverfront village outside of present-day Lisbon, a fisherman inhabits both the solitude of the river and the shared routines of family life that rhythmically bring him ashore in TERRA FRANCA, the first feature-length documentary from Leonor Teles, part of a new generation of Portuguese filmmakers and the youngest ever recipient of the Berlin Golden Bear for Best Short Film in 2016.
Winner of the Scam International Award at the 2018 Cinéma du Réel Int’l Documentary Film Festival, TERRA FRANCA, a hybrid of reality and fiction. documents a year in the life of Albertino Lobo, a fisherman in the town of Villa Franca. A gruff man of few words and many solitary silences, the camera follows the fisherman as he crosses the Tagus River in search of a catch. From work-filled everyday life to fancy boat parades, this also introduces home audiences to Alberto’s family, as they prepare for his daughter’s wedding, which entails affectionate celebrations as well as domestic tiffs, while an accidental violation of arbitrary fishing regulations threatens to take away his livelihood. Teles’ meditative, meticulous portrait, shot over two years, opens up a sliver of Portuguese society and its inhabitants, with all their aspirations, tensions and joys.
Called “as simple, quiet and direct as it gets” by Film Daze, TERRA FRANCA also captured the ETIC Award for best Portuguese Competition film at the Doclisboa International Film Festival, as well as the Young Critics Prize at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/Digital (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google)
Running Time: 80 minutes
Genre: World Cinema/Documentary
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Audio: Stereo
Language: Portuguese with English Subtitles
