North American Premiere
Angola, 1995: At the height of the civil war, Nayola scours combat zones and treks through perilous terrain in search of her husband, who has gone missing in battle. Sixteen years later, in the aftermath of the war, Nayola’s daughter Yara has grown up parentless. Now a politically conscious rap artist striving for social change, she circulates her own music illegally, in defiance of censorship. Wary of the police’s raids, her grandmother, Lelena, does her best to keep Yara hidden. One night, an encounter with a masked intruder pulls their family history—and the scars of war—into stark relief.
Featuring outstanding vocal performances from spoken word artist Elis Rita and rap artist Meduza, Nayola deftly incorporates a variety of stunning animation styles—ranging from realistic to impressionistic—to shift fluidly between dreams, reality, past, and present.
Like the striking and vivid graphic style of the animation, Nayola is bold and thrilling storytelling which combines its forceful message about the legacy of living through war with an almost mythic quality.”—Wendy Ide, Screen Daily
Elisângela Rita, Vitória Soares, Feliciana Délcia Guia, Marinela Furtado, José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho
Portugal/Belgium/France/Netherlands
2022
In Portuguese and Kimbundu with English subtitles
Violence; coarse language
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
A Magnificent Life
Animator Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville; The Illusionist) crafts a loving biopic of the revered French writer, playwright and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol (Jean de Florette; My Father's Glory)
Salón México + Midnight Boogaloo Live!
To celebrate our Mexico Noir series we invited Midnight Boogaloo to get the party going with a mix of salsa, boogaloo and rock & roll. After their set enjoy the seminal dancehall melodrama Salón México, a classic from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.
Nika & Madison
Two young Indigenous women become fugitives following an act of self-defence and are forced to flee into the wilderness. Inspired by Thelma and Louise, this compelling story of unbreakable friendship sheds light on systemic injustices.
Gabriel Figueroa & Alex Phillips: Painting It Black
In this free talk, educator and filmmaker Devan Scott (himself a professional cinematographer) will introduce you to the artistry of two giants of Mexican cinematography, Gabriel Figueroa and Canadian Alex Phillips.
The Things You Kill
Thirty-something professor Ali leads an apparently stable life. But when his ailing mother dies under ambiguous circumstances, he starts to unravel, resulting in an act that shatters our understanding of his person.
Credits
Producer
Ana Carina Estróia, Geert Van Goethem, Linda Stercks, Camille Raulo, Jean-François Bigot, Arnoud Rijken, Michiel Snijders, Serge Kestemont, Tomás Oom Martins, Jorge António
Screenwriter
Virgílio Almeida
ANIM
Elie Klimis, Hugo Santos, João Monteiro, João Silva, Johanna Bessiere, Lisandro Schurjin, Luís Vital, Patrick Raats
Editor
Job Ter Burg, Ewin Ryckaert
Original Music
Alex Debicki
Art Director
José Miguel Ribeiro
Director
José Miguel Ribeiro
José Miguel Ribeiro graduated in Visual Arts at the Fine Art School in Lisbon and did further studies in drawing and animation. His film O Banquete da Rainha (1994) was awarded at the Cinanima International Animation Festival. He directed A Suspeita (2000), which won the Cartoon D’Or at the Cartoon Forum and more than 25 international awards. In 2004, he directed the series Home Things, where the protagonists are house objects: the mop, the toothbrush, the glasses, the vacuum cleaner, among others. The series was honoured with several international awards.