{{short description|2017 Mozambique documentary drama film}} {{Infobox film | name = Mabata Bata | native_name = | image = Mabata Bata poster.jpg | alt = | caption = | director = Sol de Carvalho | producer = Sol de Carvalho <br> Rodrigo Areias <br> Ricardo Freitas | writer = Sol de Carvalho <br> José Magro | based_on = Novel ''O dia que explodiu Mabata Bata'' by Mia Couto | starring = Emílio Bila <br> Wilton Boene <br> Medianeira Massingue <br> Esperança Naiene | music = Pierre Dufloo | cinematography = Jorge Quintela | editing = André Guiomar | studio = | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2017|04|30|Mozambique|df=yes}} | runtime = 74 min. | country = Mozambique<br> Portugal | language = Tsonga <br> Portuguese | gross = | budget = }} '''''Mabata Bata''''' is a 2017 Mozambique feature drama film directed by Sol de Carvalho and co-produced by the director along with Rodrigo Areias and Ricardo Freitas for Bando à parte Promarte Films.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://iffr.com/en/2019/films/mabata-bata| title=Mabata bata by Sol de Carvalho | publisher=IFFR | accessdate=10 October 2020}}</ref> The film is a magic-realist adaption from a short story by Mia Couto.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.africanfilmfestival.org/festival/films/mabata-bata/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113190954/https://www.africanfilmfestival.org/festival/films/mabata-bata/ |archive-date=2020-11-13 |title=Mabata Bata |publisher=African film festival |accessdate=10 October 2020 |website=africanfilmfestival.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mabata bata |url=https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2019/films/mabata-bata |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=IFFR EN |language=en-GB}}</ref> The TV movie version was released on 30 April 2017 in Portugal and 1 May 2017 in Brazil. On 30 January 2019, the film was released at International Film Festival Rotterdam in Netherlands. The film was shot around the locations in Chibuto, Gaza and Mozambique.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://africultures.com/films/?no=19956| title=Mabata Bata | publisher=Afri Cultures | accessdate=10 October 2020}}</ref>
==Plot== The plot is based on a short story by Mia Couto ''O Dia Em Que Explodiu Mabata Bata'' (The Day Mabata Bata Exploded). Azarias, a young orphaned shepherd has to tend the oxen flock of his uncle Raul, although he dreams of going to school. The most beautiful animal, Mabata Bata, is destined to pay the dowry of Raul's fiancée. However, the ox leaves the herd and steps on a mine left behind by fighters in the civil war. Afraid of his uncle's wrath, Azarias flees into the forest with the remaining animals and magical events occur.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://africine.org/film/mabata-bata/19956 |access-date=25 July 2024 |publisher=Fédération africaine de la critique cinématographique (FACC) |website=africine.org |language=fr |title=Mabata Bata |date=2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705033615/https://indielisboa.com/en/movies/mabata-bata/ |archive-date=2022-07-05 |url=https://indielisboa.com/en/movies/mabata-bata/ |title=Mabata Bata |publisher=indielisboa | accessdate=10 October 2020}}</ref> His grandmother and uncle set out to rescue him and convince him to return.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.bandoaparte.net/feature-films |access-date=25 July 2024 |publisher=Bandoaparte.com |location=Guimarães, Portugal |website=bandoaparte.net |title=Mabata Bata |language=pt}}</ref>
==Cast== * Emílio Bila as Azarias * Filomena Remigio as Carolina * Esperança Naiene as Irondina * Medianeira Massingue as Lúcia * Mário Mabjaia as Espírito * Horácio Guiamba as Raul * Wilton Boene as José * Shcozo Ichiyama
==Awards and accolades== The film received positive reviews and won several awards at international film festivals.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283340709_The_Seduction_of_Ash_Mia_Couto%27s_The_Day_Mabata-bata_Exploded_and_The_Bird-Dreaming_Baobab| title=“The Seduction of Ash:” Mia Couto’s “The Day Mabata-bata Exploded” and “The Bird-Dreaming Baobab” | publisher=Research Gate | accessdate=10 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bozar.be/en/activities/161264-mabata-bata---sol-de-carvalho| title=Mabata Bata | publisher=BOZAR CENTRE FOR FINE ARTS | accessdate=10 October 2020}}</ref>
* II Festival Atlantis Film Awards – Special Mention Award * Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) – Jorge Quintela, Best Photography of a Fiction Feature Film Award * Pan–African Festival of Cinema and Television of Ouagadougou – André Guiomar, Best Editing Award * Antonio Loja Neves Award from the Portuguese Federation of Film Clubs (FPCC) – Best Film Award * Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema, Russia, 2019 – Dialogues of Cultures in the Islamic World Award * New York City Independent Film Festival, 2019 – Best Fiction Film Award * Luxor African Film Festival, 2019 – Radwan El-Kashef Award for Best Film on an African theme. * Cabo Verde International Film Festival – Best Film Award * 17th Angers African Film Festival – Young Jury Award for Best Film * Langston Hughes African American Festival (LHAAFF), 2019 – Best Film Award * Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2019 - Best Achievement in Soundtrack <ref>{{Cite news |last=Abimbola |first=Oluwakemi |date=2019-10-28 |title=Sola Sobowale, Adesua Etomi win at 2019 AMAA [FULL LIST] |url=https://punchng.com/sola-sobowale-adesua-etomi-win-at-2019-amaa-full-list/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |newspaper=The Punch|language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|tt5566608}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4QZeDOilQM ''We Could Be Heroes''] on YouTube * [https://www.facebook.com/wecouldbeheroesdocumentary/ ''We Could Be Heroes''] on Facebook * [https://cinemazed.be/en/node/4705 Mabata Bata] * [http://afrikafilmfestivalkoeln.de/en/movies/o-dia-em-que-explodiu-mabata-bata/ O dia que explodiu Mabata Bata] * [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24389455 "The Seduction of Ash:" Mia Couto's "The Day Mabata-bata Exploded" and "The Bird-Dreaming Baobab"] * [https://www.cinemalecratere.com/mabata-bata Mabata Bata film]
Category:2017 films Category:Mozambican drama films Category:Tsonga-language mass media