Njinga: Queen of Angola

Njinga: Queen Of Angola (Portuguese: Njinga: Rainha de Angola) is a 2013 Angolan historical epic film directed by Sérgio Graciano. The film stars Lesliana Pereira as Queen Njinga Mbandi, fighting to liberate Angola.

Njinga: Queen of Angola
Film poster
PortugueseNjinga: Rainha de Angola
Directed bySérgio Graciano
Written byIsilda Hurst
Joana Jorge
Produced byCoréon Dú
Renato Freitas
Sergio Neto
StarringLesliana Pereira
Erica Chissapa
Ana Santos
Sílvio Nascimento
Miguel Hurst
Jaime Joaquim
Orlando Sérgio
CinematographyRui Amado
Edited byAntónio Gonçalves
Production
company
Semba Comunicação
Release date
  • 8 November 2013 (2013-11-08) (Angola)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryAngola
LanguagePortuguese & Kimbundu
Budgetapprox $1 million[1]

Plot

The film is set in 17th-century Angola and presents the true story of Queen Njinga Mbandi. While her father is king, she trains in military strategy. Her father, brother and nephew each take turns leading their people, but all meet a mysterious death. Njinga then becomes queen, leading wars against the Portuguese and resisting the Dutch invasion.

Cast

Production

It took six years for the producers to raise money to make the film.[2] Screenwriter Isilda Hurst spent two and a half years researching the Queen and the historical context of her story. The studio consulted historians while researching for the film.[3] Filming took place in Kissama National Park in Angola[4] over nine weeks.[3] The filmmakers chose to use Portuguese as the primary language of the film because they felt it would allow the greatest number of Angolans to understand the film, even though that is historically inaccurate.[2]

Release

The film was screened at the 2014 Montreal World Film Festival.[2] It then premiered in the UK at the Film Africa film festival in London on 6 November 2014, and advance tickets sold out so quickly that the film had to be moved to a larger venue.[5][6] It screened again during the African Diaspora International Film Festival in Washington, DC.[7][8]

Reception

In African Studies Review, Fernando Arenas wrote that despite the characters lacking emotional depth, the film "stands out in the context of African cinema for its ambition in portraying one of the monumental chapters of the continent's history".[4] The film won two awards at the 2015 Africa Movie Academy Awards: Best Actress in a leading role for Lesliana Pereira and Achievement in Makeup.[9]

Television adaptation

The film was adapted into a television show of the same name, which aired from 2014 to 2015.[4]

References
  1. Andrews, Beverly (28 March 2015). "New lens on slavery's toxic legacy". New Africa. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. "Njinga-Rainha de Angola exibido em Montreal" [Njinga-Queen of Angola exhibited in Montreal]. AngoNoticias (in Portuguese). 25 August 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  3. "'Njinga, Queen of Angola': Masterpiece premiering at San Francisco Black Film Festival". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  4. Arenas, Fernando (December 2016). "Njinga: Rainha de Angola (Njinga: Queen of Angola) by Sérgio Graciano (review)". African Studies Review. Cambridge University Press. 59 (3): 324–326. doi:10.1017/asr.2016.118. S2CID 151466560. Retrieved 3 October 2018 – via Project MUSE.
  5. "Lesliana Pereira deslumbra em Londres" [Lesliana Pereira dazzles in London]. AngoNoticias (in Portuguese). 12 November 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. "Film Africa 2014 Brochure for Web" (PDF). 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. Wren, Celia (14 August 2015). "A fairy tale with a real-life grit". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  8. "EUA: Filme "Njinga, Rainha de Angola" estreia em Washington" [USA: Film "Njinga, Queen of Angola" premieres in Washington]. Agência Angola Press (in Portuguese). 23 August 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  9. "Tony Elumelu Bags Amaa's Award As Mauritania, Nigeria Win Big". All Africa. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018 – via General OneFile.
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