Hot Docs 2019 – The Sound of Masks
Atanásio Nyusi, a compelling storyteller and legendary Mapiko dancer, takes us on a visually dramatic journey through Mozambique's past and present.
Interview with Director Sara CF de Gouveia
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I first met Atanásio in Cape Town in 2011, where he had travelled to with his dance group Massacre de Mueda to participate in a festival called Out of the Box. Paolo Israel, a senior lecturer in history at the University of the Western Cape, had produced the performance and introduced me to the group. He was also involved in the film as a story consultant.
Because I grew up in Portugal and I had been to Mozambique a few times with other work, I was interested in looking at the role of the Portuguese in Mozambique, and looking at the colonial aftermath. I was fascinated by Atanásio’s performance in Cape Town and how he kept bringing up the past as if saying “let’s not forget”. So, though the film is about Atanásio, it also presents chapters of the history of Mozambique through dance sequences and storytelling. The colonial presence is felt throughout, both through the usage of archive and music, allowing us to travel between present and past.
Apart from that, the Mapiko masks are beautiful to look at and once one starts to understand how the stories are being told through masquerade and dance, it becomes quite an immersive experience, so I felt like there was a film that could come out of all of this.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This film is a beautiful journey through Atanásio’s memories, both personal and collective. It touches subtly on themes that most people can understand: loss of culture, adaptation and collective memories that linger, and are perhaps never fully resolved. By the end of the film, the audience will have gone on a journey and learnt about a place that most people don’t know much about.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The theme I feel comes across the most is perhaps a sense of nostalgia. Atanásio had a tough life, with the war in Mozambique starting when he was very young, which led him to flee the country to neighbouring Tanzania, but he was also lucky in that eventually he moved to Maputo, the Mozambican capital city, and became a professional dancer and artist. Chances are he would have always been an artist, as Makonde culture promotes that, but had he stayed in the North of Mozambique he would have perhaps never had some of the opportunities he found in the city.
When you live in a place that is not where you were born, there is a longing that stays with you and though we didn’t explore that in the film in a sentimental way, that is something that comes across. Atanásio’s imagination feeds off that longing and in a way is what keeps him connected to his roots.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
During the development stage, I thought he would be the main voice of the film, but not necessarily the main character. I had this idea that we were going to have more characters, mainly ex-combatants and that he would connect them and it would be through chapters of their memories that we would travel back and forth in time to get a better understanding of the history of Mozambique. But as time went by, it became obvious that his life story was very interesting and that he was very keen to share it, so it shifted a bit. The only combatant we meet in the film is Master Jaime Manupa, who was very good friends with Atanásio’s father when he was still alive.
We also ended up focusing on Atanásio’s relationship with his son and the generational gap that comes from two very different life experiences.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been really positive so far, but for me, it was really important to show the film to Atanásio before anyone else, which I did last year, and he was moved by it, so I felt we had done something positive.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
In every Q&A there have been interesting questions raised. Because this is a film that touches on a variety of themes and also focuses on a place and culture most people haven’t heard about, I noticed the audience needs time to formulate what they have experienced. It has definitely been interesting to hear what people take from the film though.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It’s always important to have presence online as more people can find out about the film. We are in the middle of our festival circuit now, so this seems very positive to me.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are currently interested in distributors, buyers and journalists.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
This isn’t by any means an activist film, but I feel it can stir interesting conversations around history and how we perceive ourselves and each other.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Perhaps something along the lines of: How do we reconcile from a colonial past by listening to each other's stories more openly?
Would you like to add anything else?
Firstly, thanks for including The Sound of Masks on your platform and for anyone reading this interview, come to one of our screening!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently developing a short documentary in Cape Town, which I am co-directing with Jessie Zinn. I have a couple of other projects in development, but they are in their very early stages.
Khalid Shamis, our editor and co-writer, is busy finishing his second feature documentary The Colonel’s Stray Dogs, so you should keep an eye out for that.
Interview: April 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
The Sound of Masks
Atanásio Nyusi, a compelling storyteller and legendary Mapiko dancer, takes us on a visually dramatic journey through Mozambique's past and present.
Length: 1:10:00
Director: Sara CF de Gouveia
Producer: Sara CF de Gouveia, Pandora da Cunha Telles
Writer: Sara CF de Gouveia, Khalid Shamis
About the writer, director and producer:
SARA GOUVEIA is an award-winning filmmaker. Her mid-length documentary Mama Goema won the award for Best SA Documentary at the TriContinental Film Festival 2011 and screened at festivals worldwide. She is an alumnus of the Durban Film Mart 2014 Pitching Forum, IDFAcademy Summer School 2015 and 2017 and a Hot Docs Blue Ice Fellow. Sara is interested in looking at identity in a contemporary context and exploring the fuzzy line separating fiction from reality. Her debut feature documentary The Sound of Masks had its World Premiere at IDFA 2018.
Working in the film and TV industry in the UK, Middle East and Southern Africa since 1997, KHALID SHAMIS runs his production company TubaFilms from Cape Town. Khalid balances the fine line between story structure and aesthetics having completed numerous long-form films as an editor and directed his own feature documentary Imam and I, which received critical acclaim. He has held an associate lecturer position at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, holds the prestigious South African Guild of Editors acronym and has been an active member of several industry bodies in South Africa as well as acquiring numerous awards for his work.
After being selected for Producers On The Move in Cannes in 2004, PANDORA DA CUNHA TELLES co-founded Ukbar Filmes in Portugal. She has produced 30 feature films, most of which are international co-productions, such as Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and Licínio de Azevedo’s The Train of Salt and Sugar (Open Doors Locarno: winner of the Open Doors Grant and the CNC Development Prize).
Key cast: Atanásio Nhussi (main character), Natepo Nhussi and Master Jaime Manupa
Looking for: distributors, buyers
Facebook: The Sound of Masks
Twitter: @lionfishprod
Instagram: @saracfgouveia
Hashtags used: #thesoundofmasks
Website: www.thesoundofmasks.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Lionfish Productions and Ukbar Filmes
Funders: National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, IDFA Bertha Fund, Hot Docs Blue-Ice Development Group, RTP
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? 1st, 3rd and 5th of May - Hot Docs International Film Festival - Toronto, Canada. Dates to be announced: May - MUICA - Cartagena, Colombia; June - Encounters International South African Film Festival - Cape Town, South Africa; 8th June - NY African Film Festival - New York, USA; October - Maputo Fast Forward - Maputo, Mozambique.