Constellations of the Equator
May 30th 1967. Colonel Odemegwu Ojukwu unilaterally declares the independence of the state of Biafra from the Nigeria. The Nigerian federal government ruled by Yakubu Gowon leads a military offensive over Biafra to recover the region. Hostilities open way for large-scale war and the first post-colonial conflict in African soil. Saint Tome, at the time a Portuguese colony, is close to Biafra by air. Its geographic position permitted the establishment of an airlift which saved of hundreds of thousands of children from starvation. Fifty Yeats later, a phantom in San Tome wonders amidst what remains from this event considered the first civilian aid mechanism in the 20th century.
Com:
Commander Ferro
Realisation and editing:
Silas Tiny
Producers:
Rui Alexandre Santos
Teresa de Jesus Andrade
Co-Producer:
Gerson Soares
Cinematography:
João Vagos
Direct sound:
João Sales Moreira
Sound post-production:
Luís Zhang
Music:
Luís Fernandes
Hugo Vasco Reis
Participation: Artur Alves Pereira
Evarisa Ani
Fernanda Triste Paquete
Filinto Costa Alegre
Gil Pinto de Sousa
Maria Antónia Quaresma
Lázaro Afonso
Voice Off: Billy Woodberry
Poems by: Chinua Achebe
Hugo Vasco Reis
Participation: Artur Alves Pereira
Evarisa Ani
Fernanda Triste Paquete
Filinto Costa Alegre
Gil Pinto de Sousa
Maria Antónia Quaresma
Lázaro Afonso
Voice Off: Billy Woodberry
Poems by: Chinua Achebe
THE FIRST SHOT
That lone rifle-shot anonymous
in the dark striding chest-high
through a nervous suburb at the break
of our season of thunders will yet
steep its flight and lodge
more firmly than the greater noises
ahead in the forehead of memory.
Chinua Achebe