Cinema of Cape Verde

Cape Verde are making headlines in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after going through their group unbeaten, holding Spain 0-0, Uruguay 2-2 and Saudi Arabia 0-0. The key point here is that Cape Verde were unbeaten against two former World Cup champions. Next, Cape Verde will take on defending World Cup Champion Argentina in the Round of 32. Long before I knew of their soccer team, I came across films from the nation.

Films set in Cape Verde

The first instance of Cape Verde that I came across in cinema was Pedro Costa’s Casa De Lava (1994).

Casa De Lava, courtesy Grasshopper films

Costa’s filming on Cape Verde led to the location of his next few films. While filming on Cape Verde, he was asked by the locals to take their letters to relatives living in Fontainhas, on the outskirts of Lisbon. Costa took those letters to Fontainhas and the rest is cinematic history with Costa’s Fontainhas Trilogy.

The next film that I saw in Cape Verde was a Portuguese production, Djon Africa. It was a film that I adored and programmed for my film festival in 2018.

Djon Africa (2018, Portugal, Filipa Reis/João Miller Guerra)

In Djon Africa, Miguel Moreira’s laid-back Portuguese life takes a turn when someone tells him he looks like his father. Miguel doesn’t know anything about his father or his roots. When his grandmother reveals that his father was banished to Cape Verde, Miguel makes a quick decision to visit Cape Verde and track down his father. With minimal information and money, Miguel’s charm ensures no door in Cape Verde is closed for him. As he goes deeper into the island, fuelled by the national drink grogue, reality and dreams slowly blend resulting in a life-changing journey.

Co-written by Pedro Pinho (The Nothing Factory), Djon Africa is a playful film that highlights the picturesque landscape of Cape Verde and raises relevant questions about identity for those whose lives are caught between two nations.

Djon Africa came out in 2018 but its relevance can apply to many of the players of the current Cape Verde soccer team, many of whom were born elsewhere but are representing Cape Verde in the World Cup.

Cinema of Cape Verde

For another soccer film festival, I came across Cape Verde, My Love (2007, Ana Lúcia Ramos Lisboa).  More than a decade ago, it was tough to find films from Cape Verde. However, that appears to be changing. There is a “Nova Vaga Cabo Verde” (Cape Verdean New Cinema) which has led to more works appearing at film festivals around the world.

The following is a useful link to hunt down more films from Cape Verde: Contemporary Cape Verdean Cinema.

Kimi Takesue's Observational Cinema

Spotlight on the following films of Kimi Takesue:

Where Are You Taking Me? (2010)

Looking for Adventure (2013, short film 43 min)

Onlookers (2023)

Cinema is a constant discovery. The more one sees films, the more one realizes how many more worthy films await. I hadn’t heard or read anything about Kimi Takesue until the recent release of her films via the Criterion Channel.

This turned out to be a worthy discovery as Takesue’s unique perspective allows a new entry point to understand travel and cultures as the three films are set in Uganda (Where Are You Taking Me?), Peru (Looking for Adventure) and Laos (Onlookers) respectively.

Why do you travel?

The Peruvian and Laos set films raise insightful questions about why people travel and the films break down each location into a few essentials such as common tourist attractions and places where people shop or eat. The gaze in Looking for Adventure and Onlookers is one-way only. The camera is mostly fixed in a single spot and we witness people walking on the street or standing still in the distance. Majority of the people aren’t aware of the camera, which is why they go about their activities normally. This applies equally to both local street vendors, selling food, snacks, drinks or local souvenirs, and also to tourists trying to take the same picture as others in their group. 

Looking for Adventure (2013), courtesy of Kimi Takesue website

Onlookers (2023) is more recent while Looking for Adventure (2013) was filmed a few years after smart phones became commonplace.

Onlookers (2023), courtesy Kimi Takesue website

Our world is packed with Instagram and social media pictures of travelers posting the exact same picture as countless others have before them. Everyone wants their selfie or picture of the same locations. This is apparent in both Looking for Adventure and Onlookers. People have different purposes of taking the pictures. For some, it is a documentation of their travel, for others it is more about posting on social media for others to see. There is memory and nostalgia associated with these images. Not everyone in these movies takes images with a camera or smartphone but many do. Given the cost of travel and how some people save money for years to visit a place, one can’t blame their image taking.

Looking for Adventure and Onlookers raises other brilliant contemplative questions about travel. More than the images, why do people travel? And when they do, what do they do in the locations? And what do they buy? Laos and Peru are on separate sides of the world yet in both of these locations, and countless others around the world, the interaction between locals and foreigners comes down to a few similar sale transactions: an artistic artefact (locally made or mass-produced), jewellery, pots, clothing, bags, postcards, photographs, magnets, small toys and dolls. Majority of these artefacts sold could be indigenous or made by local native people (villages or non-urban centers).

The question about why we travel may seem obvious but Kimi Takesue’s films forces us to consider them due to her distanced observational style. There are no talking heads or voice over narration to nudge viewers in one specific direction nor is there apparent dialogue. We observe and can form our own views on events.

Cultural Lens

Where Are You Taking Me? is a different film altogether from Looking for Adventure and Onlookers and those differences are what makes Where Are You Taking Me? not as strong as the other two. Where Are You Taking Me? focuses on events around Kampala, from the streets to sporting events to documenting about civil war survivors. The film showcases Uganda and documents the country for others to see. There aren’t any tourists visiting the location and we don’t get to see the exchange of two cultures. However, the film’s title makes sense later on as the directors tells curious kids watching the camera where the film will be shown (US). That admission by the director ensures this film isn’t a one-way gaze and opens up a two-way mirror into us seeing the locals and on the same hand, the locals being aware of those on the other side of the planet.

Where Are You Taking Me? (2010), courtesy of Kimi Takesue website