Bissau-Guinean filmmaker, actor.

Born in 1949 in Cadique (Guinea Bissau).
He studied in Cuba, at ICAIC (Cuban film institute).
Then he attended current news training under the supervision of Paulin Soumanou Vieyra ("Afrique sur Seine") from 1972 to 1974. He has worked as a reporter for many years.

He studied cinema in Cuba, during the war of armed liberation, along with Sana Na N'Hada, Josefina Crato and José Bolama.
After independence in 1978, the four of them founded the National Institute of Cinema (INC), on the model of its Cuban counterpart ICAIC.

In 1987 he directed his film "Mortu Nega" which was very successful. In 1992, he directed "Les yeux bleus de Yonta", then, "Po di Sangui" in 1996. All his works were award winners in several festivals.
He is the 2021-22 McMillan-Stewart Fellow in Distinguished Filmmaking (The Film Study Center and the Harvard Film Archive, Harvard University, March 21-28, 20022)

Flora GOMES, born Florentino GOMES, was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau in 1949. He studied cinema in Cuba before receiving instruction from Paulin Soumanou Vieyra on newsreel production in Senegal and working as a journalist. His career took off with Mortu Nega (Those Whom Death Refused) in 1988, which was awarded many international prizes and had commercial success. This was followed in 1992 by Udju Azul di Yonta (The Blue Eyes of Yonta), which was elected for Un certain regard at Cannes. In 1996 he presented his film Po di Sangui (Tree of Blood) for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Many critics consider the award-winning film to be his best. His feature film My Voice (Nha fala) (2002) has also won him several local and international awards. In 2005, Gomes was recognized by the University of Lisbon, receiving a medal celebrating the universality of his work. In the same year, Gomes was the president of the ECOWAS jury at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival (FESPACO). Gomes' films often deal with history, memory and modern cultural identity in post-independence Guinea-Bissau.
Source: https://africanfilmny.org/directors/flora-gomes/

FILMOGRAPHY
1976 /// "A reconstrução" (CM, documentary) /// Director
1976 /// O Regresso de Cabral - O retorno de Cabral (Cabral's Return), short /// Co-director (with Sana Na N'Hada)
1976 /// "Anos no Oça Luta - Anos no oça lura - Anos no assa luta / Nos années de lutte" (Short, documentary) /// Co-director (with Sana Na N'Hada)
1979 /// "La Coupe Amilcar Cabral | O Torneio Amilcar Cabral" (Short, documentary) /// Co-Director
1988 /// "Mortu Nega / Those Whom Death Refused" (Feature film, Guinea Bissau / 93mins / Historical Drama - War / Criolo) /// Director (Tanit of Bronze at 1988 Carthage FilmFest / Best Debut Feature at 1989 Fespaco)
1992 /// "The Blue Eyes of Yonta - Udju Azul de Yonta" AKA "Les yeux bleus de Yonta - Os olhos azuis de Yonta" (Feature film, Guinea-Bissau / 90mins / Drama - Romance / Creole and Portuguese) /// Director (Un Certain Regard - Cannes 1992 // Tanit of Bronze at 1992 Carthage FilmFest)
1993 /// "The Mask - A mascara" (Short, documentary) /// Director
1995 /// Flora Gomes - Identificação de um País /// DIRECTOR: Maria João Rocha (Documentary Biopic) /// Participant
1996 /// "Po di Sangui / Tree of Blood / L'arbre aux âmes" (Feature film, Guinea-Bissau / 90mins / Drama - Folklore / Kriolu) /// Director (Nominee Cannes 1996 / Silver Tanit at Carthage 1996)
1996 /// "Cannes 96 : cinémas d'Afrique" (short documentary) /// DIRECTOR: Osange Silou /// Participant
2002 /// "Nha Fala - My Voice" (Feature film) /// Director
2008 /// "The Two sides of the war - Les Deux faces de la guerre - As duas faces da guerra" (Feature Documentary) /// co-director with Diana Andringa
2009 /// "A pegadas de todos os tempos" (Short, drama). Part of "L'Afrique vue par... / Africa Seen by… ", a 10 Shorts collective film
2012 /// ""A Repùblica di Mininus / The Children's Republic" (Feature film) /// Director
2017 /// "Spell Reel" /// DIRECTOR: Filipa César /// Participant
2017 /// "O Vendedor de Histórias" (Short, documentary-drama) /// Director


WEB / SOURCES:
* www.larepubliquedesenfants.eu/le-realisateur/
* www.institutfrancais.com/fr/portrait/flora-gomes
* www.trigon-film.org/fr/directors/Flora_Gomes
* https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Gomes
* https://africanfilmny.org/directors/flora-gomes/
* https://filmstudycenter.fas.harvard.edu/2021/11/15/flora-gomes-awarded-2021-22-mcmillan-stewart-fellowship-in-distinguished-filmmaking/
updated by Thierno Dia, on 16 July 2022
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PT

Flora GOMES (1949-, Guiné-Bissau)
Nasceu em Cadigue, Guiné-Bissau. Estudou Cinema no Instituto Cubano das Artes (ICAIC), e no Senegal com Paulin Soumanou Vieyra. Depois de trabalhar durante dois anos como repórter de informação, ingressou no Ministério da Informação do Senegal. Na qualidade de operador, director de fotografia e realizador, co-realizou duas curtas-metragens em finais dos anos 70. Desde 1987, realizou cinco longas-metragens e um documentário.

Filmografia
1976 - O Regresso de Cabral (curta-metragem, documentário)
1976 - Anos no Oça Luta (curta-metragem, documentário) - co-realização com Sana Na N'Hada
1977 - A Reconstrução (média-metragem, documentário) - co-realização com Sana Na N'Hada
1987 - Mortu Nega (etnoficção)
1992 - Os Olhos Azuis de Yonta (longa-metragem, ficção)
1994 - A máscara (curta-metragem, documentário)
1996 - Po di Sangui (etnoficção)
2002 - Nha Fala (longa-metragem, ficção)
2007 - As duas faces da Guerra, co-realização com Diana Andringa (longa-metragem, documentário)
2013 - República di Mininus (longa-metragem, ficção)

WEB
* www.marfilmes.com/pt/africafilms/mortu+nega.htm
* http://cinafrica.letras.ufrj.br/index.php/filmes/filmes-guine-bissau/65-filme-flora-gomes
* https://misosoafricapt.wordpress.com/cinema-da-guine-bissau-filomena-embalo/