The film is described as “an intimate portrait of a man who gave voice to the soul of his people — a father, a creator, and a symbol of Cape Verdean identity,” having been doubly honored in May at the IndieLisboa festival, receiving both the audience award and the best film award in the “IndieMusic” section.
At the premiere of “Orlando Pantera” at IndieLisboa, Catarina Alves Costa recounted that she began considering this project in 2000, when she met the musician (born Orlando Monteiro Barreto) in Cape Verde, in the context of another documentary project on Cape Verdean theatrical creation.
The director filmed and collected various materials on the musician, which remained unused until years later, when Orlando Pantera’s only daughter, Darlene Barreto, challenged her to make a documentary.
With a narrative guided by Darlene Barreto, the film brings together various archives, notably from the musician’s family, and includes footage of Orlando Pantera singing, as well as others performing his music.
According to Catarina Alves Costa, Orlando Pantera (1967-2001) “changed, in a way, the paradigm of Cape Verdean music by drawing from the most traditional rhythms, mainly the instruments of ‘tabanka’, the conch, the drum, the ‘batuque’, essentially the most African origins.”
“Orlando Pantera” arrives in Portuguese cinemas after having been shown in Cape Verde at the Portuguese Cultural Center in Praia.
