Marie Clémence Andriamonta-Paes

When Malagasy soldiers came back from WWII, they expected De Gaulle to give them independence for fighting along with France against Nazis. Instead, they were asked to return to their indigenous status. They soon became the leaders of an uprising, harshly repressed by the French colonial authorities. The last witnesses tell us about their long months of resistance.

In 1462, the first African slaves were settled on the island of Cape Verde brought by the Portuguese colons. It is supposed that they were the first inhabitants of the archipelagos. They carried with them the rhythms and the seeds of what became the BATUQUE: a music form, performed mostly by women, both singers and dancers. The singers, repeat very strong lyrics, sitting in a circle and beating the rhythms with their hands on a piece of cloth between their legs. While one woman performs a very sensual dance with her hips in the middle of the circle. During the colonial era, it has been strongly forbidden but it remained alive in clandestinity. The group Raiz de Tambarina, one of the oldest groups of Batuque on Santiago island, is composed of ordinary people, saleswomen, fish merchants, drivers... Through their every day life and performances we discover Cape Verde today and their passion for the Batuque.

Mahaleos voices and music have accompanied the people of Madagascar ever since the collapse of the colonial regime. Yet, even after 30 years of success, the groups seven musicians still keep their distance from the world of show-business, and remain deeply committed to helping their countrys development; their professions range from surgeon to farmer, physician to sociologist and member of parliament. Accompanied by the groups rhythmic melodies, the film follows the singers through their daily lives, giving us a glimpse of the far-reaching social and economic problems of the Malagasy people. The combined talents of the Brazilian, Cesar Paes, and the Malagasy, Raymond Rajaonarivelo, have produced a work that is both ethereal and concrete, poetic and political.

Records the sights and sounds of the many extraordinary street musicians from the Northeast of Brazil whose music and lyrics tell the stories of their lives with improvised humor, drama and colorful vulgarisms.

The awara soup is a kind of stew containing all sorts of ingredients from French Guiana. People say that if someone eats that dish on Easter, he is sure never to leave Guiana.

Shot in Lapland and Brazil, this film is about Man’s relationship with Nature, from the indigenous people’s point of view. Listen to the oral culture of the Saamis from the Arctic and Fulni-ôs from Brazil. Beyond the ice fields, beyond the trees, the climates, the skins, the same intuition : the whole future is in their own hands.

Venerable storytellers recount for the camera and their listeners the founding myths of Malagasy culture.