Sambizanga

Sambizanga (1972) is a powerful drama film directed by Sarah Maldoror, set in 1961 during the Angolan War of Independence. The film follows the struggles of Angolan militants involved with the MPLA, an anti-colonial political movement. Elisa Andrade plays Maria, Domingos' wife who searches for him from prison to prison while her husband faces threats of torture and eventual death. Based on José Luandino Vieira's 1961 novella The Real Life of Domingos Xavier, Sambizanga was the first feature film produced in Angola and by any Lusophone African country, and won several awards, including the Tanit d'Or at the 1972 Carthage Film Festival.