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Every October, Black History Month gives everyone the opportunity to share, recognise, understand and pay homage to the impact of Black heritage and culture. Throughout this month, the UK reflects on the struggles, triumphs, and enduring spirit of a community that has profoundly shaped the national and cultural identity of the country – as well as in Brazil, where we do the same every November with the National Black Awareness Month. To mark both celebrations, the HELENA SOLBERG CINECLUB brings to its screen the biographical drama Doctor Gama, chronicling the life of Luiz Gama, one of the most important abolitionists in Brazilian history.

DOCTOR GAMA | DOUTOR GAMA
Dir. Jeferson De | 2021 | Brazil | 92 min. | Portuguese with English subtitles

Doctor Gama, by Jeferson De, is a historic milestone. It is the first time a Black Brazilian filmmaker has made a feature film about an important Black figure in national history: the abolitionist lawyer and writer Luiz Gama (1830-1882). His place in Brazilian history is somewhat reminiscent of Frederick Douglass or Harriet Tubman, yet many Brazilians know little about him.

Born free in Bahia, the son of a freed African woman and a white man, he was sold to a slave trader by his own father at the age of ten and sent to São Paulo. There, he learned to read, won his freedom, became a respected journalist, poet, and judge, as well as an abolitionist activist defending the causes of enslaved Black people with great eloquence, having freed over 500 people throughout his life. His actions were a vital component to finally helping collapse the cruel slavery system in Brazil.

Adopting a more conventional narrative and aesthetical approach that intertwines melodrama and courtroom drama, Doctor Gama focuses on two axes of the protagonist’s trajectory: his familiar universe and involvement with a case considered impossible to win. The traditional narrative structure does not prevent the film from having a bold and sagacious nature, especially when Gama speaks directly to the camera and seems to be addressing today’s audience in their cinema seats.

Doctor Gama had its international premiere at the American Black Film Festival Miami, considered the world’s most prominent Black film event. It was also shown at the NY African Diaspora International Film Festival, the Afro-Atlantic Histories programme at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and it is now part of the Globoplay catalogue.

There will be drinks to welcome the audience, kindly provided by Go Brazil Wines & Spirits, and the screening will start at 6.30pm.