New Moons: Falcão Nhaga

“We are always in the midst of the journey”. [1] This line by the poet and essayist Dionne Brand is one of many possible ways of expressing the experience of living in the diaspora: an eternal state of transition—a state of in-between—, a life that oscillates between a ‘there’ and a ‘here’. The memory of Brand’s quote came to mind whilst watching the two short films by Portuguese filmmaker Falcão Nhaga, Mistida and Sabura, featured in the New Moons programme at Batalha. The director, the son of a Cape Verdean mother and a Guinean father, began his career in filmmaking with films that share, in addition to titles featuring words in Creole, the experience of the Guinea-Bissau diaspora in Portugal, emphasising the complexities of the contemporary experience of immigration.

Mistida was the film he made to complete his degree at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School (ESTC), and it premiered in the student film section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. According to the director himself, “mistida” in the Creole of Guinea-Bissau is a word that has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. It can mean “belief, necessity, having a commitment to someone, or a meeting with someone. It is a mission you must fulfil” [2]. It is “a multifaceted word”, just as the film itself is, in his view. Nhaga’s debut short film was co-written with the Brazilian Pedro Cabral and tells the story of an immigrant mother who, suffering from back pain, asks her son for help to finish carrying the groceries home.

The two walk home to Almada, a suburb on the outskirts of Lisbon. During the walk, the multiple meanings of the word ‘mistida’ can be subtly perceived. Whether in the son’s gesture of going to meet his mother to help her, and in this a sense of duty and care towards her, for during the walk he remembers the repairs that need doing at her house and promises to carry them out without fail. Whether in the reiteration of the importance of not forgetting Guinea-Bissau, present in the mother’s speech, whether in her memories, in the recounting of a dream, or in the songs she sings throughout the journey home. Whilst the son, played by Welket Bungué, affirms the need to be in the present, to stay in Portugal, the mother, played by Bia Gomes, speaks of the need not to forget where one comes from. Each, in their own way, fulfilling a mission in this immigrant life, torn between feelings for Portugal and Guinea-Bissau.

The appearance of actress Bia Gomes in the role of Dolores leads to another encounter, this time, however, off-screen. Seeing her in the film serves as a kind of tribute to the cinema of Flora Gomes, the leading figure in Guinean cinema, given that she starred in several of the director’s films, including her unforgettable portrayal of Diminga in the 1977 classic Mortu Nega.

Sabura, Nhaga’s second short film, premiered at IndieLisboa and went on to win the Best Film award at the Uppsala Film Festival in Sweden. The title refers to the notion of pleasure, joy or the flavour of life, and the film deals with the dilemmas of young immigrants, but from the perspective of love. Speaking about the film, the director explains his deliberate choice to use Tony and Cadija’s love as a gateway into the complex historical and social narrative of the search for better opportunities in Europe. Sabura goes beyond the couple’s love, prompting reflection on issues shaping Guinea-Bissau’s post-independence era: social inequalities, divisions between ethnic groups, and the political instability that later led to civil war. “The future of this country has become hopeless for young people like Cadija and Tony,” says Nhaga in the promotional material for the short film. [3]

The film also offers a broader picture of the lives of young immigrants in Lisbon, by incorporating into the narrative elements such as the reality of shared accommodation (including residents from regions other than Africa, adding another layer to the current debate on immigration in Portugal), or the daily commute between the suburbs and the city centre. As in Mistida, Nhaga’s subtle direction is striking, as is the skilful way in which he turns the silences shared by the characters into moments loaded with significance. However, whereas in the first film the silent moments between mother and son evoked memories and traditions dating back to Guinea-Bissau, in Sabura the stillness shared by the protagonists points simultaneously to the uncertainties and the hope for the future. Here, the middle of the journey also brings infinite possibilities.

For now, all we can do is look forward to the next projects from this young and inspiring director. Bring on the next Moons.

[1] Brand, D. (2022). Um mapa para a Porta no Não Retorno: notas sobre pertencimento. Bolha Editora.
[2] See interview conducted by Luís Gulta of RFI on 12 May 2022, available at https://www.rfi.fr/pt/programas/convidado/20220513-cannes-no-caminho-da-curta-mistida-de-falc%C3%A3o-nhaga. Accessed 25 April 2026.
[3] See https://portugalfilm.org/files/20250911125808_W63R6Y0PO6KIB45124S9.pdfm