BANZO

This film – one of the most talked about at the Karlovy Vary IFF – deals with an uncomfortable truth of Portugal’s imperialist past: banzo. Also known as slave nostalgia, this severe depression would eventually lead to the death of African slaves exploited on the plantations. In 1907, a doctor stationed on São Tomé island is tasked with treating the souls plagued by the strange affliction, giving rise to a ghost story that – by adopting the point of view of the oppressors – reflects the crude management of the bodies, disposed of with bureaucratic apathy. Controversial and radical, this fiction based on real accounts stands out for meticulous detail in its visuals, crafted by Margarida Cardoso, and supported by Leandro Ferrão’s striking chiaroscuro cinematography, as it delves into the complexities of colonial trauma.