Power Behind the Nation

Stereotypes Stereotypes is a Canadian fantasy short film, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and released in 1991.[ The film centres on a woman who turns into a monster, and plunges her husband into a surreal alternate world, after he cheats on her.

Beira Typical example of discovery and tourism documentary, with strong propaganda accents. This is the good life for the settlers of Beira, in the centre of Mozambique. The city is modern and developing. Leisure activities ‘like in Europe’ are beach, golf, aviation, dancing. In this “Portuguese city of the future”, the director managed to show only a few Mozambicans running through the image.

The People We Civilized Interesting, almost ethnographic, sequences on peoples of southern and central Angola, show the diversity of their customs and the richness of their cultures. The images often of quality are not devoid of a dominant look that frames them as exotic. The Euro-centric commentary on the exaltation of “lusitanity” is rather paternalistic and even contemptuous: “All these peoples are Portuguese and love Portugal, what a wonderful destiny it is for this country that came to civilize them and lead them on the paths of spirituality after having opened the roads of the world.”

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is credited as being the World’s Greatest Living Explorer. Among his extraordinary achievements, he was the first to circumnavigate the world from pole to pole, crossed the Antarctic on foot, broke countless world records, and discovered a lost city in Arabia. He has travelled to the most dangerous places on Earth, lost half his fingers to frostbite, raised millions of pounds for charity and was nearly cast as James Bond. But who is the man who prefers to be known as just ‘Ran’?

Guinea-Bissau, Indial Vi... The public rushes around the Minister to visit, as at the zoo, a Guinean village reconstituted in a park of Lisbon: daily activities, Muslim prayer, women with bare breasts. The camera pins faces, attitudes, busts. Then accompanies a dance to the sound of marimbas and drums. To conclude this exotic visit, kings of the tribe are decorated by a general, under the bust of the Republic.

Festivities in Loureno M... This documentary is filmed in the capital of Mozambique, Lourenço Marques, on the day of the celebration of the integration of the province of Niassa into the territory of the colony. A train arrives at the station, the flags are hoisted, fireworks are fired. In the wide avenues, to the sound of the bands, the popular processions parade. European ladies and gentlemen wearing hats rub shoulders with Mozambicans, more numerous and rather well dressed.

Harvest Moon A documentary about story of two activists on a mission to bring back the wheat cultivation and its lost heritage to its original homeland of Jordan.

Colonial Action of the P... The aim of this documentary – especially in the subtitles – is to promote the benefits of civilization. The buildings and roads, built by Africans, commanded by settlers. The agricultural facilities, the hospital. Then the camera lingers with a certain fascination on dances – including warriors – and topless women. This curious documentary concludes with two “visions of the future”: a Portuguese dance of white and black schoolchildren, and the graduation of Portuguese teenagers.

Bulky Waste Large waste consists of objects and things that are unsuitable for collection as mixed municipal waste, due to their size or composition. If large waste is irresponsibly disposed of in nature or at illegal dump sites, everyone pays the cost of its removal.

Guinea-Bissau – Industr... Seara carefully documents the agricultural work of the Guineans – a heading indicates the names of the peoples. Harvesting of peanuts, coconuts, rice, cotton, followed by weaving and sewing, cutting of sugar cane and extraction; handicraft jewelry work and Muslim prayer. No white colonial settlers are shown in the frame…