The Hero (Portuguese: O Herói; French: Un héros) is a 2004 Angolan-Portuguese-French film directed by Zézé Gamboa. It was filmed on location in Angola and won the World Dramatic Competition Grand Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.[1]

The Hero
French theatrical poster.
Directed byZézé Gamboa
Written byCarla Baptista
Pierre-Marie Goulet
Fernando Vendrell
Produced byFernando Vendrell
StarringOumar Makena Diop
Milton 'Santo' Coelho
Maria Ceiça
CinematographyMario Masini
Edited byAnna Ruiz
Music byDavid Linx
Diederik Wissels
Release dates
  • May 18, 2004 (2004-05-18) (Cannes)
  • December 7, 2005 (2005-12-07) (France)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesAngola
France
Portugal
LanguagePortuguese

Plot

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The Hero follows the intersecting lives of four individuals living in Luanda in the wake of the Angolan Civil War: Vitório, a war veteran crippled by a landmine in search of a job; Manu, a ten year old boy searching for his father four years after his disappearance; Joana, a second-grade teacher who mentors Manu; and Judite/Maria Barbara, a prostitute who begins a romantic relationship with Vitório.

Reception

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In addition to its Sundance award, The Hero received awards from over twenty-five other film festivals.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Hero California Newsreel
  2. ^ Sabine, Mark (2012). "Rebuilding the Angolan body politic: global and local projections of identity and protest in O Herói/The Hero (Zézé Gamboa, 2004)" (PDF). Journal of African Cinemas. 3 (2): 201–219. doi:10.1386/jac.3.2.201_1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
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