Mueda

A Mozambican delegation asks the Portuguese provincial administrator for independence. He agrees to consider their demands in a public square where a crowd is gathering. However, the petition is soon rejected, sparking a protest. A reconstruction of historical events, a documentary, a political manifesto, a performance—all these diverse forms are woven into the fabric of the film Mueda, also known as Mueda, Memorial of a Massacre (or Mueda, Memories of a Bloody War). It was directed by Ruy Guerra, who was born in Mozambique but became one of the most prominent filmmakers of Brazil’s "Cinema Novo." Mueda is the first feature-length fiction film of independent Mozambique. It presents a recording of a theatrical play staged in the northern town of Mueda—a reconstruction of the massacre committed by Portuguese troops on June 16, 1960. This massacre is widely considered the catalyst for the anti-colonial struggle in Mozambique.