.webp)
African and afro-descendant videomakers take part in intensive workshop on Storytelling, Narratives and Power
African and afro-descendant videomakers take part in intensive workshop on Storytelling, Narratives and Power
Seven talented participants - Aoaní Salvaterra, David J. Amado, Elísio Bajone, Eugénio Silva (Mushu), Indira (Indi Mateta), Josiana Cardoso and Rogério Dias - were selected through an open call to join four days of hands-on training with New York filmmakers Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, known for award-winning documentaries such as Going to Mars – The Nikki Giovanni Project (2023).
It was the first time Stephenson and Brewster led a workshop of this kind in Lisbon: a program blending technical skill and creativity with a strong commitment to social activism.
Photos: Marianna Rios/CEsA
“This workshop is about supporting Black voices, Black narratives and Black cinema. Many of these filmmakers came with ideas and projects already in progress. We’re here to provide the support they need to centre their power and tell their stories in their own terms — in a society where they are not always welcomed,” – Michèle Stephenson
.png)
The workshop was part of the European Horizon project DemocracyInAction, coordinated at CEsA by researchers Iolanda Évora and Jessica Falconi under the work package Race, Ethnicity and Civic Participation.
Over 32 hours, participants explored scriptwriting, interviewing, editing, and developed their own short projects in a film lab - while also engaging in dialogue about representation, identity, social justice, and belonging. “I’m usually the only Black person in these spaces. Here, I felt safer and more welcomed", says David J. Amado, one of the participants of the workshop.
Photos: Marianna Rios/CEsA
