Mariza and the Story of Fado

Fado is the urban music of Lisbon, a sort of blues that derives from the fishing culture of Portugal and its empire in Brazil and with Africa. In this inventive and engaging documentary, Simon Broughton traces the history of 20th century Portugal by using the shifting role and perception of fado as a main device. Beginning as a working class music of protest, fado was later adopted by the country's fascist dictatorship as an expression of "authentic" family values. After the fall of the regime in 1974, the music became tainted by association, and it took an entire generation for it to be rediscovered. Enter Mariza - herself an emblematic fadista, as she was born in Mozambique and effortlessly combines the traditional and the contemporary.

The screening together with films:
Black Delta ReligionThe Long Overtone