BODY GAMES. CAPOEIRA AND ANCESTRY (JOGO DE CORPO. CAPOEIRA E ANCESTRALIDADE)
Directed by Richard Pakleppa, Matthias Röhrig Assunção and Cinézio Peçanha (Mestre Cobra Mansa), 87 mins., 2014. Nyaneka and Portuguese, Subtitles: Portuguese and English
BODY GAMES presents a sensual tapestry of combat games from both sides of the Atlantic. It tells a story driven by Mestre Cobra Mansa´s need to understand the ancestry of his art form, Capoeira, as part of a wider concern with his Afro-Brazilian heritage. The search starts in Rio where, as a 12 year old street child, Cobra found survival and self-esteem playing Capoeira. Through Capoeira he grew into Brazil´s black movement and discovered his identity as an Afro-Brazilian. A powerful Brazilian myth links Capoeira to a legendary Angolan game called Engolo. Through an exchange of Capoeira and Engolo in the dusty villages of Southern Angola, Cobra and his friends begins to understand the affinities and differences between combat games played on both sides of the Atlantic.
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