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For almost ten minutes, a man slaughters a tree in an arid, sunny landscape. The dry thrusts of the axe in the tree trunk are heard rhythmically: it's the force of labour. This is the opening scene of Makala, by the French director Emmanuel Gras. The entire film will be nothing more than a variant of this image throughout the process of coal production, the work of Kabwita, from the extraction for sale, through sacrificial manual transport over several tens of kilometres of Congolese territory. Inheriting the lessons of direct cinema, Gras adopts an almost purely observational, anti-illusionist record and dispenses with any kind of narration or voice-over, inviting the viewer to confront the dreams and longings of Kabwita and his family. (Alexandra João Martins)