‘Amílcar’ reveals man behind a revolution

Amílcar, a documentary about revolutionary leader, poet and agricultural engineer Amílcar Cabral, is screening from Sunday (7 June 2026).

The African premiere forms part of this year’s Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. The film is showing in select cinemas, including at The Bioscope.

Cabral helped found the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and became one of the leading figures in the struggle for the independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde from Portuguese colonial rule.

Rather than following a conventional documentary structure, Amílcar uses Cabral’s own writings, including poetry, letters and political pamphlets, to tell his story. The texts are voiced by Cape Verdean filmmaker Nuno Miranda, while the film adopts a fragmented and impressionistic style.

Shot on 16mm film, the documentary contrasts the poetic nature of Cabral’s words with official police reports from the period. Archive footage is combined with images of nature to build a portrait of both the man and the liberation movement he helped lead. The film examines long-buried injustices, blending personal history with political events.

The project began after director Bruno Cabral encountered the story of Amílcar Cabral during a trip to Cape Verde in 2013. Research for the documentary included interviews with friends, family members and contemporaries, exploring the revolutionary’s efforts to unite Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde in a struggle for independence.

That research found that Cabral remains a controversial figure whose legacy continues to generate differing opinions in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Portugal and the United States. Developed over five years, the documentary evolved into a personal exploration of Cabral’s life and ideas.

Cabral describes the film as a way of exploring human vulnerability and the need to remain attentive in a world where intolerance is spreading. The documentary reflects on social justice, collective memory and the lasting relevance of anti-colonial struggles.

Amílcar has been selected for more than 20 international film festivals. The film received the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution in the Envision Competition at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the world’s largest documentary film festival.