The Atlas Workshops is Marrakech International Film Festival’s vital industry and talent-development programme for projects in development, films in production and in post-production. Among this year’s selections of films in development we find Flowers of the Dead – a new fiction feature project titled by Lisbon-based, Cabo Verdean filmmaker Nuno Miranda – who just premiered his short The Last Harvest at Rotterdam and who worked as an assistant on Pedro Costa’s Vitalina Varela. He previously premiered his docu Kmêdeus at the fest in 2020. This new project is inspired by true events. Here is the synopsis: In Praia, Tempu, an introverted undertaker, mourns the death of his father while facing family pressure to sell their country home and leave Cabo Verde. His life intersects with Mónica, a Cabo Verdean singer and emigrant, who is visiting on the occasion of her estranged father’s burial. After the two meet during the tense family gathering that follows the ceremony, unexpected intimacy ensues. Tempu invites Mónica on a trip to enjoy Passover festivities and to visit his mother before he leaves. Their journey takes them through the island’s countryside, highlighting Mónica’s feelings of alienation. A heated argument erupts forcing them to confront their emotions. As Mónica learns painful family secrets, Tempu reveals his tragic past and his mother’s suicide that was of his father’s doing. Departing from Cabo Verde, Tempu makes peace and leaves after a tender farewell with Mónica, who, a year later, sings in nostalgia.
I had the chance to discuss Flowers of the Dead with Nuno Miranda – we chatted about the genesis of the project, th Cabo Verde art scene and cinema, the possible links between this future project and his recent fiction short and docu films.
