An Immortal Story
| Duration | 50 mins
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| Production Year | 1990
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| Language Versions Available | Original Portuguese Version with English subtitles.
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| Produced by | Torromfilm, Sweden/Portugal
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| Director | Solveig Nordlund
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| Script | Solveig Nordlund
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| Cinematography | Lisa Hagstrand
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THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARQUIS OF MANTUA AND THE EMPEROR CHARLEMAGNE AS IT IS PLAYED ON THE ISLAND OF SAO TOMÉ.
On the island of Sao Tomé in West Africa the population has been performing a play about the Emperor Charlemagne for centuries. The play is performed whenever there is a feast on the island. Most villages have their own theatre group and the parts are inherited, going from father to son. All parts are played by men.
The two islands of Sao Tomé and Principe, which lie south of Nigeria and west Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea, form what is today one of the least-known independent states in the world. This was not always the case. Sao Tomé was until 1975 a Portuguese colony and was during several centuries one of the world’s largest slave market.
During the time when Sao Tomé was a slave society, song, theatre and dance became a means of expressing things that could not be expressed in words.
After the independence in 1975 it was feared that
The Tragic story of the Marquis of Mantua and the Emperor Charlemagne would disappear because it was seen as a play expressing cultural freedom and independence. At present however, it is as popular as ever. It has become their culture.