« Aqui não é o céu do Bié » the allegorical representation of the Angolan liberation struggle and civil war in the film “Na Cidade Vazia” by Maria João Ganga

Abstract

With its debut in 2004, on the cusp of a turning point in Angolan cinema, the film Hollow City (Na Cidade Vazia, 2004) by Maria João Ganga recounts the story of N’dala, an eleven-year-old who, in 1991, lands in Luanda upon fleeing the civil war that had victimized his family in Bié. In the capital, N’dala befriends Zé –a young boy who stars in a school play  as Ngunga, the hero of the Peptela’s celebrated literary debut. Wandering through the streets of Luanda, N’dala personifies the pain of loss and of forced displacement caused by the internal conflict, evoking, simultaneously and through his similarities with Ngunga, the extended and long-lasting effects of colonialism and of the struggle for the independence of the territory. The aforementioned historical events, allegorically depicted on the screen of what was the first feature film directed by an Angolan woman, become objects of analysis which not only reflect the experience of mourning, but also a communal sense that can burgeon through the collective trauma of war(s). In this context, the female experience – that comes to life and is realized on screen by the women who participate in the narrative – assumes particular prominence.