The Cold War as played out in its least-known theater: Africa. It was here on this continent, that not only two superpowers, but four adversaries with opposed interests, locked horns between 1961 and 1989. The Soviets wanted to extend their influence over a new part of the world; the United States sought to appropriate Africa's natural riches; the former empires felt their colonial power weakening; and the young nations defended their newly won independence. Young revolutionaries such as Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral and Agostinho Neto appealed to the Cuban guerilleros to help them in their struggle. So Castro's Cuba began to play a central role in the new offensive strategy of Third World nations against the colonialism of old and new empires. Looking behind the scenes of this "cold" war and its supposed "proxy" conflicts - from Che Guevara's tragicomic zenith in Congo to the victory of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola -, this film tells the story of these internationalists whose saga explains what the world has become today: they won all the battles, but finally lost the war.

France / United Kingdom
Director : Jihan El-Tahri
Camera : Frank Peter Lehmann
Sound : James Baker
Editing : Gilles Bovon
Music : Les Frères Guissé

France, 2007, 118min, doc, French/English/Portuguese/Russian/Spanish with English subtitles, Jihan el Tahri, dir.


Production :
Temps Noir,
154, rue Oberkampf,
75011 Paris, France
Tél : +33 (0)1 5528 3387
Fax : +33 (0)1 5528 3391
Email : tempsnoir@tempsnoir.com

Co-Production :
Big Sister, ARTE France, BBC Films, Independent Television Service

with the participation of :
YLE - Finish Broadcasting Company, VPRO TV, SBS Australia, RTV Slovenja, Czech Television

Sales :
ARTE FRANCE Distribution Internationale,
8 rue Marceau,
92130 Issy-Les-Moulineaux, France
Tél : +33 (0)1 5500 7082
Fax : +33 (0)1 55007396
Email : e-erbsmann@artefrance.com

Format: HDV. Colour and B&W
Running time: 2 x 59 min
Year of production: 2006

____________

ES
Entre 1961 e 1989, o continente africano foi um dos principais palcos
da Guerra Fria. As nações africanas que tinham alcançado a independência, ou que lutavam ainda por ela, tiveram que enfrentar não apenas as antigas potências coloniais europeias, mas também as aspirações hegemónicas sobre o continente das duas super-potências: União Soviética e Estados Unidos. Integrando-se no bloco dos "não alinhados", os novos países africanos procuraram assumir o controlo dos seus próprios destinos e garantir a sua independência nacional através de alianças internacionais. Cuba teve um papel de liderança nesse processo, prestando auxílio aos jovens revolucionários africanos como Patrice Lumumba, Amílcar Cabral e Agostinho Neto. Da estadia frustrada de Che Guevara no Congo à batalha de Cuito Cuanavale, "Cuba, Une Odyssée Africaine" tenta compreender melhor a África contemporânea através da história destes internacionalistas que ganharam todas as
batalhas, mas que acabaram por perder a guerra.

Jihan El-Tahri, França/Reino Unido, 2006, 120'


PRIX / FESTIVALS / AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS / TELEVISIONS

2008 | 15th New York African Film Festival | NEW YORK, Usa | APRIL 9th to MAY 26th | www.africanfilmny.org |
* Selection

2007 | 15th ANNUAL AFRICAN DIASPORA FILM FESTIVAL | NEW YORK, Usa | Nov 23 to Dec 9, 2007 | www.nyadff.org |
* (US PREMIERE)

2007 | 5º Festival Internacional de Cinema Documental de Lisboa - Doclisboa 2007 | LISBONNE, Portugal | 18>28 octobre 2007 | www.doclisboa.org
* Sélection

2007 | États Généraux du Film Documentaire | LUSSAS, France | August 19 > 25, 2007
* Selection (Africa)

9th edition of the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival | Johannesburg, 13 - 22 July 2007 | Cape Town, 20 July - 5 August 2007 |
* Selection (Category: South Africa)

2007 : Vues d'Afrique | MONTREAL, Canada | 2007 |
* Winner: Best Director

2007: Fespaco | OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso | 24 février - 03 mars 2007 |
* Winner: Jury Mention

2007: 19th FIPA, Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels | BIARRITZ, France | 23-28 janvier 2007 |
* Competition (Creative Documentaries)

2006 : Sunny Side of the Docs | MARSEILLE, France | 2006 |
* Winner: Olivier Masson Prize

___________

DE

Der Film analysiert das Engagement Kubas in den afrikanischen Unabhängigkeitskriegen zwischen 1961 und 1989 anhand zahlreicher und seltener Archivaufnahmen und Interviews. Vertreterinnen aller an den Konflikten beteiligten Parteien sprechen offen über ihre damaligen Rollen und Interessen. Über 300.000 Kubaner unterstützten bis zum Ende des Kalten Krieges die revolutionären Befreiungsbewegungen und halfen den jungen Nationen in ihrem Kampf gegen die ehemaligen, aber auch die neuen Kolonialmächte. Breiten Raum erhält im Film der Krieg in Angola von 1975 bis 1988. Es geht um Beweggründe und Erfolge von Kubas Engagement, das der MPLA und ihrem Vorsitzenden Augustinho Neto die Regierungsmacht sicherte und den Überfall der Armee Südafrikas auf Angola stoppte. In den Friedens-verhandlungen 1988 mussten die USA Kubas Teilnahme akzeptieren. Als Gegenleistung für den Abzug kubanischer Truppen musste Südafrika aus Namibia abziehen und Nelson Mandela samt Mitkämpfern freilassen.

Regie: Jihan El Tahri

Egypt/Frankreich, 2007, Dokumentation, 118 Minuten, OmeU


Quelle / Source :
https://outnow.ch/Movies/2007/CubaUneOdysseeAfricaine/Bilder/