José Eduardo Agualusa

Birth : , Huambo, Angola

History

José Eduardo Agualusa [Alves da Cunha], born in 1960, spends most of his time in Portugal, Angola and Brazil, working as a writer and journalist. His books have been translated into 25 languages. So far five of his books have been translated to English: « Creole » (2002, Arcadia. Orig.: « Nação crioula »), « The Book of Chameleons » (2006, Arcadia, UK; 2008, Simon & Schuster, USA. Orig.:« O Vendedor de Passados »), « My father’s wives » (2008, Arcadia. Orig.: « As mulheres do meu pai »), « Rainy Season » (2009, Arcadia. Orig.: « Estação das Chuvas ») and "General Theory of Oblivion" (2015,Penguim Random House 2015, Archipelago Books. Orig.: "Teoria Geral do Esquecimento") He also wrote five plays, "W generation", "Aquela mulher", "Chovem amores na Rua do Matador","A Caixa Preta" and "O terrorista elegante", the last three written with Mia Couto. He received three literary grants. One from the Centro Nacional da Cultura in 1997 to write Creole; the second one received in 2000 from the Fundação do Oriente, allowed him to stay three months in Goa and write « Um estranho em Goa»; and the third one given in 2001 by the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, allowed him to live one year in Berlin where he wrote « O Ano em que Zumbi Tomou o Rio ». In the begining of 2009 Agualusa completed his novel « Barroco tropical » in Amsterdam, while living in the Writers Residency, a joint initiative by the Dutch Foundation for Litterature and the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature.

Movies

Nayola
Nayola
Book
Three generations of women plagued by the civil war, Lelena (the grandmother), Nayola (the daughter) and Yara (the granddaughter). The past and present interweave. Nayola goes in search of her husband who disapeared during the war. Decades later, the country is finally at peace, but Nayola hasn't returned. Yara has become a rebellious teenager and subversive rap singer.
O Fascínio das Histórias
O Fascínio das Histórias
A digressive quest, through conversations with various people, about the need humanity has always had to tell stories about itself, about the power and enchantment of fiction.
Karingana - Licença para contar
Karingana - Licença para contar
Self
Maria Bethânia takes her poetic narrative to Mozambique for the first time. The interpreter presents excerpts of works connected by different forms of expression in the Portuguese language. With testimonies from Mia Couto, José Agualusa and several Mozambican and Angolan writers and literary critics, the documentary shows the development of literature in these countries, delving on its importance during the anti-colonial resistance, the connection with native languages, the oral traditions and the influence of Brazilian writers.
O Vendedor de Passados
O Vendedor de Passados
Novel
A man, who creates pasts for a living, struggles to find his own past while a mysterious woman takes a dangerous step.