It was night of January 24, 1835. A group of Africans, mostly enslaved and some freed, gathered in a townhouse in Salvador (BA). They were, above all, Muslims brought to the force of countries such as Senegal, Togo, Mali and Nigeria. They discussed the last details of a planned uprising to hatch the next morning. But there was a denunciation and the movement of imperial soldiers required a change of plans: the uprising was anticipated.
The most important urban rebellion of enslaved in Brazil became known as the Malaise revolt. On Saturday night (25), 190 years after the episode, his story was presented to the public of the Tiradentes Cinema Show. The movie Maledirector Antonio Pitanga was shown in a premiere in a public square.
The feature film has already undergone other festivals and will be in late February in the program of the Pan-African Film Festival, which takes place in Burkina Faso. This is the first time that a Brazilian fiction has been selected for the main audiovisual event of the African continent. Already in the cinema, the debut is scheduled for April 10th. But the filmmaker wants circulation to go far beyond the commercial circuit.
“My dream was to bring this story that the school does not tell. And humanize it in such a way to be able to interact with the 21st century. After the work is completed, my dream is now to go to Knowledge Banking, Schools, to Universities, the quilombos. And it’s already happening. We received a telegram from three American universities inviting us to Princetown, Pennsylvania and Harvard.
“My movie can’t just be in the movie theaters frequented by middle -class whites. They will also see. But this movie needs to reach schools, favela and quilombo,” he adds.
The malays, as black Muslims were known, knew the Arab alphabet, had mastery of writing and high degree of instruction. Although they are the protagonists of the uprising, they also sought the support of other enslaved groups. The rebellion was thoroughly planned and had been set for January 25 as it is the date that celebrates the end of Ramadan, the sacred month for Muslims.
The confrontations lasted more than three hours. More than 70 Africans died in conflicts and hundreds were punished with deaths, prison, whip or deportations. The episode is detailed in the book Slave rebellion in Braziloriginally published in 1986 by the historian João José dos Reis. The work was the main reference for the production of the film.
The preparation of the costume and the characterization of the characters demanded in -depth study. In addition, the actors took Arabic classes, as there are several scenes where the language is used.
Malês, as Pitanga notes, is not a cold portrait of the episode. The film gives room for the characters to reveal their individualities: their dreams, their sadness, their loves. According to the director, there was also the concern to escape the slave stereotype as a passive victim. “These are thinking heads,” he says.
The cast features the presence of the sons of Antonio Pitanga: actor Rocco Pitanga and actress Camila Pitanga. A white lady is played by Patrícia Pillar. The director highlights the importance of growing movies with mostly black casts, also citing the film White kasa which will debut in theaters on Thursday (30) under the direction of Luciano Vidigal.
Rocco Pitanga sees a different scenario for the new generations. “I’m 44 today and started acting at the age of 20. Normally. When I found a black colleague on a test, I already knew it was just one of us who was going to be chosen to make the black character. And suddenly, suddenly We are seeing films where it is possible to see several actors playing characters with their individuals.
The film has been promoted throughout the Tiradentes show, which reaches its 28th edition. Organized by Universe Production, the event is one of the main film festivals in the country, with programming that extends until February 1st and includes 140 films, as well as debates, shows, workshops, book releases and other activities. At different times, Antonio Pitanga has taken advantage of contact with the public to discuss his work.
The director makes a comparison with the feature film I’m still hereFirst Brazilian title appointed for the Oscar in the best film category. According to him, Malês should build his own trajectory.
“The Oscar requires financial upholstery to make the lobby. Walter Salles wisely sought to give the film visibility in the countries where the judges can decide. My movie will need to build your way through the spaces of knowledge. And besides, Globo is a partner in this work. I was responsible for delivering a series of four chapters of 30 minutes each. I want the movie to arrive in the most distant corners of the country. “The series has no date yet to air.
Direction
Descendant of enslaved blacks, Antonio Pitanga says that one of the main challenges was to mediate feelings. I needed to make this story. It is my contribution to artistic life, culture, my citizenship. There was a very big need not to bring anger and hatred but to throw light on the own story that Brazil does not tell. “Before the filming, he talked to each member of the cast about what the evil revolt was.
One of the director’s concerns was to reduce the scenes of explicit violence. The episode of a rape is portrayed without showing faces and sideways. The slave whipping takes over the screen once. At other times, punishment is portrayed from different assembly strategies.
“I could have put other slaves being whipped, but I’ve seen this kind of scene. White always makes a movie where black is whipped. I don’t want to sell in my movie that black is just victim. They are thinking heads,” he explains Pitanga.
He also reveals how the idea of a scene in which the rebels capture the lady played by Patrícia Pillar. They abandon her chained and with an iron gag. “In a context of violence, it would be easy to put the slave blacks killing the white lady. It was even what had in hand on the script. One day I woke up and said: no! I will put her in the place of the slave. There are 12 seconds there .
The actress Samira Carvalho, who composed the cast, considered the choice assertive. “The image is so unusual. We are used to this image when the figure being tied is the black figure. And then, when we see a white woman, it’s a shock. scene”.
