Films, a fantastic location, fun beach diversions – all brought glitz and glamour to the Cabo Verde International Film Festival last weekend on the island of Sal, Cape Verde.
I was invited to be a jury member at the Fourth Annual Cabo Verde International Film Festival. I also participated in a workshop given by The African American Film Critics Association: A Conversation With Malik Ducard, Google Content Partnership Director.
After four days of film screenings on the Cape Verdean island of Sal, the winners included “Casa Lata” for Best Short Documentary; “Contract” for Best Feature Documentary; and “Dona Tututa,” a film about a Cape Verdean music icon which took home the Jury Award. There were other films by Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Angolan, Portuguese, French and Chinese filmmakers.
For four years, Suely Neves, executive producer at V!VA Imagens, and her partners (Edmar Gomes, Peter Da Silva and Movimentu Shokanti), have been putting together the film festival, growing it slowly but steadily each year.
Da Silva saw Sal as the perfect backdrop for an international film festival and Neves jumped on board. Da Silva works at L.A.-based film studio Relativity Media. While it has been challenging at times to convince the powers that be of the importance of such an annual event, creatives in Cape Verde and the diaspora have rapidly come around.
Among Neves’ goals this year was to forge a connection with African Americans and Cape Verdean Americans in the film industry. The result was a partnership with the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA). Both parties hope to build on this relationship for the fifth anniversery of the Cabo Verde International Film Festival.
AFKInsider spoke with Neves and Gil Robertson IV, co-founder of AAFCA.
AFKInsider: Why did you want to reach out to an American audience this year?
Suely Neves: It’s important to reach out to the American filmmakers and industry people for the simple fact that we need to tap into that world of creativity and of resources in order to build a strong network and create endless collaborative possibilities between them and the participants of Cabo Verde International Film Festival as well as the country.
AFKInsider: Why did you decide to partner with African American Film Critics Association?
Suely Neves: Since day one of the Cabo Verde International Film Festival we were set on building this bridge between Cabo Verde and the U.S. It was just a matter of when and with who. When we were presented with the opportunity to work with African American Film Critics Association, we looked into their work and liked what we saw. And given that it was looking to partner with African countries, we thought that Cabo Verde International Film Festival had something to offer in that matter.
AFKInsider: Gil, what were the pluses for AAFCA to partner with CVIFF?
Gil Robertson: As a part of our mandate to support promising filmmakers, the African American Film Critics Association has partnered with film festivals throughout the U.S. Our goal has always been to expand that outreach to include festivals throughout the African diaspora. We’ve heard very positive things about Cabo Verde International Film Festival, which is why we decided to partner with them this year. Cape Verdeans have a long history in America, so it made sense to join forces with them.
AFKInsider: Gil, from your standpoint do you think the film festival has potential to attract an American audience?
Gil Robertson: I think the festival has great potential. Cape Verde is not only home to some very talented filmmakers, but also a great location to shoot films. I think the festival is on the right course to become a powerful player in the international cinema community.
AFKInsider: Is CVIFF looking to partner with more American organizations in the future?
Suely Neves: Oh yes! We’re definitely looking to partner with more American organizations. There’s many great things happening out there so we want to make that extra effort to make that happen.
AFKInsider: What are some new developments this year at the fest?
Suely Neves: This year we had a couple of “first-timer” type of activities. We did a web workshop as a direct result of the partnership we have with AAFCA. Bringing in someone like Malik Ducard to do a web-workshop about online tools and platforms for film distribution is something that we know will bring CVIFF to a whole other level. It’s not every day that we get the chance to have a direct conversation with a Google executive. We also did a beach screening for the first time and we’re looking forward to seeing folks enjoying the beach scene while watching films. All of this is very exciting us.
AFKInsider: What are your plans for next year?
Suely Neves: We’re already throwing some ideas on the table for next year. But one thing we certainly need to do is implement submissions online. We’ve been doing mailing submission since the first edition, which can complicate. So next year it’s a must! We’re looking to strengthen our partnership with AAFCA as well as others so we can piece together a much better program.
AFKInsider: What are your long-term goals for the film festival?
Suely Neves: We simply want different people from different backgrounds to come and enjoy CVIFF and what the island of Sal and the country of Cabo Verde have to offer.
AFKInsider: What kind of economic impact do you foresee the fest having on Cape Verde?
Suely Neves: It’s a tough question to answer but we’re certain that CVIFF will have an impact in the local economy and eventually the national economy.
