Flora Gomes

Cultures of Resistance Awardee — Guinea-Bissau

Flora Gomes was born in Guinea-Bissau in 1949. He attended high school in Cuba and then studied film at the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Indistria Cinematográficos in Havana. He later studed in Senegal, but returned to Guinea-Bissau to film the country’s independence ceremony in 1974. His film Mortu Nega (1988) was the first fictional film ever made in the independent Guinea-Bissau. The film depicts the struggle for independence and the challenges of the initial post-independence years in Guinea-Bissau. His 1992 film Udju Azul di Yonta and 1996 film Po di Sangui (Tree of Blood) both screened at the Cannes Film Festival. His most recent film is A República di Mininus (2012). Gomes’ films often deal with history, memory, and modern cultural identity in post-independence Guinea-Bissau.

Gomes received a Cultures of Resistance Award (CoR Award) in 2023.

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