| Batuque, the Soul of a People | |
| Director: | Júlio Silvão Tavares |
| Producer: | Marie-Clémence Paes Luis Correia |
| Cinematography: | Cesar Paes |
| Editing: | César Paes Agnès Contensou |
| Studio: | LX Filmes Laterit Production R.F.O. |
| Distributor: | LX Filmes (Portugal) Marfilmes (worldwide) |
| Runtime: | 52 minutes |
| Country: | Cape Verde |
| Language: | Portuguese Creole English subtitles |
| Budget: | €2,000 |
Batuque, the Soul of a People (French title:Batuque, l'âme d'un peuple) is a 2006 documentary film written and directed by Júlio Silvão Tavares about the batuque musical group Raiz di Tambarina, and roots of this musical genre in Santiago, Cape Verde.[1] [2] [3]
African slaves were first brought to Cape Verde by Portuguese settlers in 1462. These slaves brought with them the cultural rhythm and music which would become Batuque: a musical form punctuated by drums while participants danced in a circle. The dance, repressed during the Colonial era, has been adopted as a symbol of the Cape Verdan cultural identity. The film seeks to document the dance form through interviews and performance by the musical group Raiz di Tambarina.
Batuque, the Soul of a People was Silvão's first film. He participated in a course with the Africadoc network before beginning production. The film was initially pitched by Silvão in Senegal, filmed in Cape Verde and edited in France.[4]
The film was screened in Lisbon in November 2010, with the filmmaker in attendance, before traveling to festivals in Brazil and the United States.[5] It had previously screened at Africa in the Picture, Netherlands,[6] the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival, Denmark, the24th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands,[7] the Africa in Motion film festival, Edinburgh, Scotland,[8] and the AfryKamera Film Festival, Poland.