Artists Statement

Other Realities sub-programme

Nwavu, the Blind Man is a short animation film in the development stage. It’s a film that proposes to combine a tale adapted from the Mozambican oral tradition with the visual aesthetic of the Batik, which is one of the most iconic artistic expressions of our culture. The animation appears in this case as a privileged means to give a second life to this tales in risks of extinction. The process behind the making of this animated film is an experimental one. All the Characters and Backgrounds will be created as batiks and thereafter, we will scan, rig and animate with digital media. Oral storytelling tradition is our starting point, the will to revitalize this tradition and take it to a contemporary medium, recontextualizing while simultaneously preserving it.

ANIMA Estúdio Criativo anima.co.mz

• Film Director João Graça (1979, Mozambique) graduated in Communication Design and holds a Masters degree in Multimedia Art from Lisbon Fine Art School. He is one of the founding members of Anima Estúdio Criativo, based in Maputo, Mozambique, his country of origin, where he is established as a documentary filmmaker. His interests have always revolved around Social Development and Art and he is committed to encourage and develop film production in Mozambique.
• João Roxo, Mozambique
• Alexandre Coelho, Mozambique