Escape from Luanda
2007 Β· 72m Β· War Β· Documentary Β· Music
In Luanda, one of the world's poorest and most dangerous places, three students from Angola's only music school work towards their end-of-year concert. The Music School is Angola's first and only school of its kind. It houses some 80 students, most of them desperately poor. Many face disapproval and outright rejection from their families who can't see a future in music. This film asks if, despite the ravages of 27 years of civil war, musical passion can overcome terrible hardships.
More Like This
Rostov-Luanda
1998 Β· β 6.8
Sissako visits a war-torn Angola after thirty years of war in search of a friend and thereby through interviews reflects on the lost utopias of a generation of Africans who experienced the liberation struggles. His camera is witness to the dislocation and despair of those he encounters living in Angola, however he also discovers the resilient spirit of Africa and optimism for its future in unexpected ways.
More info β
Blood Diamonds
2006 Β· β 6.8
Blood Diamonds is a made-for-TV documentary series, originally broadcast on the History Channel, that looks into the trade of diamonds which fund rebellions and wars in many African nations. The program focuses primarily on two nations: Sierra Leone and Angola. Diamonds which are traded for this purpose are known as blood diamonds.
More info β
Raise Your Voice
2004 Β· β 6.6
A coming-of-age story centered around a small-town singer brokenhearted by the death of her brother in a car crash, who had secretly submitted her for a summer session at a performing arts academy in Los Angeles. In the academy, she experiences a whole new way of life in the big city, far from the small town lifestyle she's used to.
More info β
Resonance
2019
The film follows three renowned vocal coaches and their students during private lessons. As the pupils prepare for their upcoming final evaluations, perfect technique is expected to produce impeccable results. Listening primarily to their voices, we feel intensity and intimacy arise between teachers and students β an atmosphere in which transcendence is being built.
More info β
Tales of Luanda: Hope the Pitanga Cherries Grow
2007 Β· β 6
Angola: thirty years of independence, three years of peace. Capital, Luanda, a city built for 600 thousand people where four million now live. Ten characters guide us through different ways of living and interpreting the city. People from all of the country's provinces meet at this crossroads. They are the life of the city, transforming it by inventing ways to make money and reinventing themselves.
More info β
Angola: Saudades from the One Who Loves You
2005
The film sheds light on a country in which, after twenty-seven years of war and three Βyears of official peace, there is an overwhelming discrepancy between poor and rich. A sensitive and respectful approach towards a traumatised society.
More info β
Otelina e Lutoy
β 10
Otelinda and Lutoy, married for almost 50 years, are reminded of the moments of greatest tension they experienced, in the Angolan civil war, when confronted with the images on the news about the war in Ukraine. Narrated by Otelinda, her story, we learn her story from the 25th of April, until the day she waited alone for her husband on the verge of misfortune, in Cabinda. Her narration is accompanied by the contrasting images of their daily lives in 2023, as well as the landscapes and people of the country where they now reside. Their relationship initially appears distant, but becomes closer towards the end of the narrative, through the memories of everything they suffered together.
More info β
Feast of the Sacred Ox
1979 Β· β 5
Scenes from the three last days of the festival in which the population of the old Kingdom of Jau participate yearly.
More info βNBC White Paper: Angola β Journey to a War
1961
An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961. (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBCβs White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)
More info β
Codename: Angola
2015 Β· β 6
In 1961 the liberation struggles start in Angola against the portuguese colonial power. The African students in Portugal fear for their safety and plan to flee outside the country. With the help of Theology students, French and North-American pastors, the operation code name "Angola" fled over 100 african students abroad towards freedom, amongst them several future leaders of african countries.
More info β
Ghost Elephants
2026 Β· β 7.7
In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.
More info β