Feature film
Time of the Leopards
O Tempo dos Leopardos
Zdravko Velimirović · 1985
Synopsis
Mozambique, 1971, during the war of liberation. A group of Frelimo guerrillas commanded by Pedro wages armed struggle against Portuguese colonial power. When Pedro is captured, his companions prepare an attack on the barracks to free him. Facing them stands a Portuguese officer who was their leader's childhood friend. But the most feared threat comes from within the movement: a captured and tortured fighter goes over to the enemy.
Context
Co-produced by the National Cinema Institute of Mozambique and the Belgrade company Avala Film, the film is among the first fiction features of Mozambican cinema. Licínio Azevedo gave the idea for it, from the testimonies of the armed struggle he had collected in Relatos do Povo Armado, and the screenplay is signed by Luís Carlos Patraquim, Branimir Šćepanović and the director. The film was presented in Maputo on 25 June 1985, the tenth anniversary of independence, in the presence of Samora Machel. The Portuguese Cinematheque screened it in 2024 in a digital copy.
Who it is for
For seeing the Mozambican liberation struggle told from the guerrilla camp, in a film released ten years after independence.
Prizes and reception
Ros Gray sees in the film a founding narrative of the nation, extolling discipline and sacrifice.
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