A wife and mother tirelessly works for the release of her jailed activist husband in Sarah Maldoror's powerful, award-winning film Sambizanga.

Set in 1961 before the Angolan War of Independence from Portugal, Sambizanga tells the story of jailed activist Domingos Xavier’s wife, Maria, (played by Cape Verdean economist Elisa Andrade). The film uses tightly framed shots as it shows Maria, with her young son in tow, walking from prison to prison searching for news about her imprisoned spouse only to be stonewalled by a series of colonial officials. Through Maria’s quest to find her husband, Sambizanga denounces colonial cruelty while it highlights the solidarity of a people and the awareness that will lead to the struggle for its independence.

French director Maldoror (who passed away in 2020 at the age of 90 from COVID–19) worked as an assistant on Gillo Pontecorvo’s landmark The Battle of Algiers (1966) and, with Sambizanga, became one of the first women to direct a feature film in Africa. She went on to make over 45 films throughout her career. (102 mins., 4K DCP)

On February 4, the film will be introduced by Dareen Hussein, PhD Candidate in History of Art and Wex Graduate Curatorial Intern and a Q&A with Annouchka de Andrade follows the screening. Sambizanga is screened in conjunction with the exhibition Sarah Maldoror: Tricontinental Cinema, which is on view in the galleries through April 28.