The 15th edition of the Mozambique Film Forum, KUGOMA, will take place in Maputo and Beira, from August 25 to 30, 2025.
Official Opening
The opening ceremony will take place on August 28, at 7:00 pm, in the main hall of the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Center. The audience will be able to enjoy a film concert featuring the short film "Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride" (1925), presented in anaglyph 3D and accompanied by live music by faculty and students from the National School of Music. On the same evening, Margarida Cardoso's latest feature film, "Banzo" (2024), shot in São Tomé and PrÃncipe, will be screened, followed by the traditional opening cocktail reception in the CCFM gardens.
Training and Knowledge Sharing
- In the mornings, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, registration is required. The festival offers two masterclasses:
- Film Criticism, with Leonel Matusse Jr. (August 26 and 27), aimed at journalists, cultural managers, and communications students;
The Perfect Pitch, with Jared Nota (August 29 and 30), aimed at screenwriters, directors, producers, and audiovisual students. - Furthermore, from August 25 to 27, from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, three discussion sessions will take place in the CCFM auditorium:
- Preliminary Results of the Audiovisual Sector Study;
Audiovisual Narratives and Historical Themes;
Behind the Scenes of Film Production.
Screenings and Evening Programming
The evening's program features over 50 films in 16 different screenings, split between the CCFM (6:00 PM and 8:00 PM) and Cinema Scala (6:30 PM and 8:30 PM).
The selection includes:
- Dozen and a half national short films and two feature films;
- A dozen short films and three feature films from PALOP countries;
- Five short films from the PALOP diaspora;
- A dozen short films from the Brazilian diaspora;
- Various national premieres;
- A special program featuring four short films from Réunion, Mauritius, and Mayotte, in partnership with FIFOI – International Indian Ocean Film Festival and La Kourmetragerie, with a representative in Maputo.
Final Highlights
- August 29th, at 8:00 PM, the Official Launch of the PALOP Cinema and Audiovisual Network (phase 2), funded by Portuguese Cooperation, will take place;
- August 30th, at 8 pm, will be the KUGOMA 2025 Awards ceremony, which recognizes new talent from Mozambique and the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), followed by a closing cocktail reception with live music in the gardens.
This year's nominees are:
- Mozambique: Melchior Ferreira, Xavier Bila, Bless Ngonhama, and Isidro Mangue;
- Cape Verde: Ricardo Leote and Olavo da Luz;
- Angola: Bernardo Banza, Resem Verkron, and Lord Over Makers.
Kugoma is a co-production of the Association of Friends of the Cinema Museum in Mozambique (AAMCM), Max Film Creative, and ZOOM, in technical partnership with the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Center and the Scala Cinema Theater. It will feature screenings at both cultural centers in Maputo, as well as a parallel program at the Mafalala Museum, Makhll'Artes, and in Beira, in partnership with the Beira Visionário group, at Casa do Artista and Solange Beach Club.
(By Joana Mawai)
