Cinema and Conflict in Postcolonial Mozambique : Archival Images as Illustration and Evidence in Estas São as Armas (1978)

The essay analyses Estas são as armas (1978), the first full-length documentary produced by the Instituto Nacional de Cinema (INC) in Mozambique. In a first step, the text provides background information regarding film productions in and about Mozambique as well as its historical frame considering both the colonial and postcolonial period. Then, the essay discusses the interplay between voice and image with regard to documentary films. The contextualization and theoretical reflection is followed by an in-depth study of Estas são as armas. By scrutinizing the different ways of dealing with archival material it becomes possible to reflect upon filmic memory politics and their relation to a historical master narrative developed by Frelimo as well as to shed light on the cultural dimensions of decolonization.publishe