Mabata Bata (2017)

MABATA BATA is a trip to the African modern rural world in Mozambique, where the magical universe is still very present on people's life who have few options to face poverty. Their great dream, still now, is to reach the 'other side', where they believe they can find potential solutions for their lives. But what is the point of making plans if the war can keep you from accomplishing them? The film is an adaptation of THE DAY MABATA BATA EXPLODED, a short story by international awarded writer MIA COUTO, published in VOICES MADE NIGHT, the author's first short stories book. The original story talks about a shepherd boy who wants to go to school, but he is not allowed to do it because he has to take care of the herd for the lobolo (traditional dowry) of his uncle, who works in the mines of South Africa. Above all, he has to take care of MABATA BATA, the herd's biggest ox. In the adaptation, the film gains a magical dimension, with the introduction of a ceremony, with an invocation of the spirit that may or may not bless the marriage that was preceded by tragic events. The war is present: the ox explodes, the boy runs away, which triggers a series of events that will end unpredictably. The film was made in co-production with the Mozambican company PROMARTE, and the Portuguese company BANDO À PARTE.