Director Flora Gomes (4)

After a long, hard anti-colonial struggle in which many are displaced, die or are injured, the liberation of Guinea Bissau is finally won. But for 'those whom death refused' - as is the case with war-weary veterans Diminga and her husband, the struggle continues as villagers fight over the scraps and spoils of war.

Before leaving for Europe to pursue her studies, Vita, a young African youth, promises her mother that she will never sing. A family legend has it that any woman in the family who sings will be cursed and will eventually die.

This film is a joint collaboration between several European and African countries, and is said to be among the most elaborate, high-tech films of the African film genre.

Life in post-independent Guinea Bissau is affectionately and tellingly captured in this ravishingly beautiful and insightful feature from Flora Gomes, who brings a vibrant sense of people, place, politics and atmosphere to the screen.