08 Jun CESÁRIA ÉVORA

Posted at 14:19h in Music documentaries in Ribnica, Out of competition by

CESÁRIA ÉVORA

Portugal / 2022 / 95’

 

DIRECTED BY: Ana Sofia Fonseca

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Vasco Viana

EDITED BY: Cláudia Rita Oliveira

PRODUCERS: Ana Sofia Fonseca – Carrossel Producoes, Irina Calado

FESTIVALS: SXSW, IDFA, DOC NYC, Sheffield Doc Fest, Jeon Ju Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, Festival do Rio

She may have been known as the “barefoot diva,” but global star Cesária Évora (1941-2011) was averse to diva-like behavior. This affectionate portrait paints a picture of a singer who, partly by performing barefoot, never forgot her roots in poverty. Her deeply melancholic voice came “from her gut, her life, her country,” as someone explains in the film. At the age of 10, Évora found herself in an orphanage because her mother couldn’t take care of all her six children after the death of her husband. She ran away a few years later to work as a café singer. This tough way of life changed when she became a worldwide star at the age of 50. What’s remarkable is that fame left her utterly unchanged.

Ana Sofia Fonseca is a director, producer, and journalist based in Lisbon, who loves telling compelling human stories that make audiences reflect on their own role in the world, focusing on themes such as racism and women empowerment. She also directed the awarded documentary “A Whole Life of September”.