WOMEN TRAILBLAZERS 2025: A tribute to filmmaker Sarah Maldoror - Festival dei Popoli

Photo by G. Blancourt

Cinema lovers are looking forward to autumn 2025 and the tribute to Sarah Maldoror (1929-2020), a revolutionary voice and the first woman filmmaker in African cinema, which will be presented at the 66th edition of the Festival dei Popoli – the Florence-based international documentary film festival – to be held in Tuscany’s capital from 3 to 9 November, under the artistic directorship of Alessandro Stellino and Claudia Maci’s management. This much-awaited retrospective, featuring twelve titles by Maldoror is part of a collaboration between Festival dei Popoli and Calliope Arts Foundation, within the framework of ‘Women Trailblazers in Documentary Cinema’, a project aimed at rediscovering and celebrating female directors, whose work has been undervalued or forgotten.

The selection aims to celebrate the work of the French filmmaker – Pan-African by adoption – who was committed to recounting the wars of liberation in the former Portuguese colonies, with a special focus on women’s roles in the struggle. Maldoror left an indelible mark on the history of cinema with her powerful gaze and unwavering commitment to social justice, as she sought the affirmation of African identities. Maldoror’s daughter Annouchka de Andrade will be a special guest at the screenings and present the director’s films in Florence. De Andrade oversees Maldoror’s legacy and is responsible for the restoration and dissemination of her work.

“The tribute we will pay to Sarah Maldoror is a due and heartfelt one,” says Alessandro Stellino, the festival’s artistic director. “Not only is she one of the most important directors in the history of cinema, she is also a unique artist who has been recounting the despotic nature of colonialism for over half a century, working personally for the independence of African countries and making her cinema an instrument of knowledge, struggle and liberation. Today, more than ever, it is important to show her work and share her motives, to remember that the love of art can never be separated from civil and political commitment. Filmmaking always implies taking a stand, especially wherever human rights are not adequately protected.”