Mamo, Brazilian @ BAFTA (British Academy of Films and Television Arts)

28 Jan, 2014

By Maysa Monção
Translated by Jessica Whitfield
Serie ‘Short films’

On 25 January, there was a special viewing of short films for the BAFTA (British Academy of Films and Television Arts), in Piccadilly. The glamorous hosts were the graduating cinema studies Masters students from the Media and Communications Department of Goldsmiths University. Amongst the graduates there was one Brazilian, Bruna Capozzoli.

The short film “Mamo” , which runs just over 13 minutes, has slavery’s heritage as its backdrop. It tells the story of an African woman living in London. Obviously, today slavery is very topical, with recent productions by Tarantino “Django” and Steve McQueen “ 12 Years a Slave ”. However, according to Capozzoli, its necessary to go dig deeper into the wound and further explore this topic. Darcy Ribeiro and Gilberto Freyre no longer alive and there are still many unanswered questions about slavery, not only in Brazil but also in countries with greater equality, like the United Kingdom.

Photo by Emiliano Capozoli

“Mamo” was filmed in the streets around Goldsmiths University, in South London. Peckham is ten minutes on bus from the University and the vast majority of its inhabitants are of Nigerian, Jamaican and Ghanian descent. Here, people speak loudly on their phones, they sell coconut milk and roots on the stalls in front of the minimarkets; people wear paper-signs around their necks asking for change. This is London that Londoners tend to ignore. Not unlike the America that Steve McQueen shows in his Oscar competing film.

In this small production, from Beyond the Sea Films , what makes the strongest impact, is not the violence but the negligence; a certain conformity which the Minister of Immigration, Theresa May, says comes from not understanding the reality of black-white relations. These relations need much more than welfarism to integrate these populations into British life. Nelson Mandela’s legend still resonates here too.

“ Mamo ” only shows sadness through the grandmother and granddaughter characters, since the father and had been killed off. The short film is neither poetic or dry, moreover it is a bridge between Africa and the United Kingdom, which has some planks of rotting wood that force the viewer to take a leap of faith. In this film there are no special effects or immortal heroes, instead it shines with liveliness and questions. It is brilliant that a Brazilian woman has come here and shared her vision through the BAFTA. We are going to see a lot more of her work.