“The camera is invited to dance.”

Lucia Udvardyova: Angosat-1, Angola's telecommunications satellite, was intended to improve satellite communication, internet access, and broadcasting of radio and television across Africa. This story was at the root of your film.

Isis Hembe: Yes. The story was inspired by a strange episode in the history of our country. Angola invested lots of money in a project… that failed shortly afterward. This made me think about what "priorities" and "access" meant. That’s how the musical The Adventures of Angosat was created - to investigate what “access” is prioritized at a political, social, and existential level.

Lucia Udvardyova: The film's format is a musical, which is a very particular narrative form, distinct from a documentary or feature. Can you talk about why you chose a musical as a narrative form and how the shooting in Angola evolved?

Isis Hembe: The film is an adaptation of a theatrical play, a musical, marked by the aesthetics of hip hop and spoken-word language. The stylistic choices were defined by the decision to maintain the "ephemeral" character of a live performance and to make the camera a character, almost, a gaze, within the universe of the plot. The camera is invited to dance and invade the thoughts of the characters.

Lucia Udvardyova: The film has a specific cinematography and style. Sometimes, reminiscent of a music video, it becomes a feature with dialogue. Can you talk about the narrative and visual aspects of the film?

Resem Verkron: We wanted to respect Isis' original creation. It’s a musical that sometimes becomes a music video while always remaining cinematic. The main challenge was to create a single-shot film with pauses, rhythms, and dramaturgical moments. The result embraces technical variations, deliberate highs and lows that reflect the project’s own originality. The sung stories, combined with movement, introduce new questions and expand what might be understood as the magic each actor and each particular element of the story brings to the narrative.

Lucia Udvardyova: It was shot in the streets of Cazenga neighbourhood, in Luanda...

Resem Verkron: Yes, this reinforced the identity of the spaces and moments, adding layers of authenticity. In this way, the film creates a dialogue between cinematic elements and more relaxed, spontaneous gestures. We love those multiple levels!

There’s also lots of magic. The camera dances, sharing its movements and creating its own trajectories. This was key, as most of the actors have limited mobility and could not engage in complex physical movements. The camera moves in sequence, following a continuous rhythm and gradually revealing the dramaturgy and inner conflicts of each character.

Lucia Udvardyova: The film's main protagonist is Isis Hembe - one of the most renowned Angolan urban artists. Can you talk about Isis and your collaboration?

Resem Verkron: He is an exceptional artist and a true inspiration. He’s able to reach all kinds of audiences. What fascinates me is the way he understands what music is, how he shares his stories via hip hop. He is a complete artist, a major reference in the alternative artistic scene of Angola, and particularly of Luanda.

Working with Isis was a wonderful experience. He is the screenwriter and the creator of this project. He helped us to uncover layers of the story that I had not fully perceived when I first attended the theatrical piece. Especially about the deeper messages his text contains, as for the way national priorities are defined and imposed.

Lucia Udvardyova: What is this film confronting?

Resem Verkron: It questions how, as human beings, we often focus more on the external than on the internal. Yet it is precisely within the internal that we find our deepest roots. Working with Isis profoundly shifted my own perspective on how we choose our priorities. Most of the time, those are chosen for us by governmental structures, without truly impacting or improving our daily lives.

Lucia Udvardyova: Accessibility, diversity, and ableism are some topics that Isis has been focusing on. Can you talk about how these topics feature throughout the film?

Isis Hembe: Accessibility is a very powerful theme because it is multidimensional and, at the same time, undervalued. In 2026, functional diversity not appearing on screens is a very clear symptom of a dangerous inversion of priorities for societies that intend to be plural and diverse.

Lucia Udvardyova: The film's directors are Resem Verkron and Marc Serena, who both come from different, but very interesting backgrounds. Resem is part of the two most exciting cultural movements in Luanda: the street art Verkron Collective and Geração 80, the leading art-house cinema production company, and Marc has written books and worked in investigative reporting and TV. Can you talk about this?

Resem Verkron: My work is situated at the intersection of visual arts and cinema, based on what I experience in the urban context of Luanda. My involvement with the Verkron Collective at the age of 16 was key in shaping a practice rooted in street art as a form of public expression and spiritual anarchy, as well as poetic resistance existing beyond institutional spaces. This experience shaped the way I think about images as tools for accessibility, visibility, and social dialogue.

In parallel, my collaboration with Geração 80 at the age of 21 allowed me to develop a more structured cinematic language, connected to independent and auteur cinema. It has been a university for me!

In Luanda, there are other cinematic hubs as KinoYetu and Uika Filmes, that have changed my life. My work is driven by the desire to create projects that move across disciplines and reach people from different contexts and sensibilities.

Lucia Udvardyova: What projects are you working on at the moment?

Resem Verkron: At the moment, I am developing a series of three short films called “RGB Trilogy”. They explore moral tension, spirituality, power, and internal conflict within the contemporary Angolan society. They are visually and conceptually driven. I am interested in how colours can function as narrative structure, emotional atmosphere, and moral landscape.

Isis Hembe: I am working on a rap album that will eventually become a theatrical musical. Also, a visual album comparing a disabled body and a developing country, as well as a short doc film about the Bairro Operário (Working-Class Neighbourhood), a symbol of resistance against colonialism and hope for all of us!