''Africa Addio'' (also known as ''Africa: Blood and Guts'' in the United States and ''Farewell Africa'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1966 Italian
mondo documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
co-directed, co-edited and co-written by
Gualtiero Jacopetti
Gualtiero Jacopetti (4 September 1919 – 17 August 2011) was an Italian documentary film director. With Paolo Cavara and Franco Prosperi, he is considered the originator of mondo films, also called "shockumentaries".
Early life
Gualtiero Jaco ...
and
Franco Prosperi
Franco Prosperi (2 September 1926 – 17 October 2004) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, active between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s.
Born Francesco Prosperi in Rome, Prosperi began his career as an assistant director with ...
with music by
Riz Ortolani
Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...
. Jacopetti and Prosperi had gained fame (along with co-director
Paolo Cavara
Paolo Cavara (4 July 1926 – 7 August 1982) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He is best known for collaborating with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi on the 1962 mondo film '' Mondo Cane'', and for directing the fict ...
) as the directors of ''
Mondo Cane
''Mondo Cane'' (literally "Doggish World" or "Dog's World", a mild Italian profanity) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film and directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano S ...
'' in 1962.
''Africa Addio'' documents the
end of the colonial era in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and the violence and chaos that followed. The film was a huge success, which ensured the viability of the so-called "Mondo film" genre, a cycle of "shockumentaries"- documentaries featuring sensational topics. The film encountered criticism and praise due to its controversial content, but is nevertheless considered to be a very important film in the history of documentary filmmaking.
Historical events depicted
The film includes footage of the
civil war in Congo, the final days of colonial rule in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, revolutions in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
and the
Zanzibar revolution
The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans.
Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...
, which included the massacre of 1964, which claimed the lives of approximately 5,000
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
civilians (estimates range up to 20,000 in the aftermath), as well as of the aftermath of the
Mau Mau Uprising
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...
in Kenya, European-descent settler exodus from
White Highlands
The White Highlands is an area in the central uplands of Kenya. It was traditionally the homeland of indigenous Central Kenyan communities up to the colonial period, when it became the centre of European settlement in Kenya, and between 1902 and 19 ...
area. The film also depicts racial and tribal violence in
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
, the
Hutu
The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
violence against the
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
n
Tutsi
The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
during the
Bugesera invasion
The Bugesera invasion (French: ''Invasion de Bugesera''), also known as the Bloody Christmas (French: ''Noël Rouge''), was a military attack which was conducted against Rwanda by Inyenzi rebels who aimed to overthrow the government in December ...
, the battles fought by government soldiers and mercenaries against rebel insurgents during the
Simba rebellion
The Simba rebellion, also known as the Orientale revolt, was a regional uprising which took place in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1963 and 1965 in the wider context of the Congo Crisis and the ...
in
Stanleyville, Congo, the mass slaughter of endangered animals in
game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
enclaves, and life in
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa.
Production
Filming
The film was shot over the course of three years across most of sub-Saharan Africa. Most notably, the film features footage from the
Congo,
Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania Main ...
,
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The documentary also includes some behind-the-scenes footage from the
1964 film ''Zulu''. Production was done on
35mm 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film
* 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock
* 35MM 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format ...
, a rarity for documentaries, which were almost always shot on
16mm at the time. Even more unique was the filmmakers' use of
2-perf Techniscope film. This gave the film a wide 2.35:1
aspect ratio despite using standard spherical lenses. Most documentaries were usually seen in the standard 1.33:1 aspect ratio, so a documentary being filmed on such a wide aspect ratio is something that wasn't seen for decades.
The filmmakers were in near-constant danger for most of filming, with Tanganyika and Zanzibar being especially dangerous. In Zanzibar, their planes were shot at and they witnessed rebels lighting a plane crewed by Germans on fire and capturing the people inside. In Dar es Salaam, they were almost shot for photographing a genocide. Jacopetti suffered a cut after a soldier smashed their vehicle's windshield with the butt of his
rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
. However, the soldiers let them go because they saw on their passports that they were Italian, and thus, "not whites." Jacopetti would refer to this as "a miracle."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack of the music used in the film was later released. The composer was
Riz Ortolani
Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...
(who had scored ''Mondo Cane'' that featured the tune later used for the hit single ''
More
More or Mores may refer to:
Computing
* MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS
* more (command), a shell command
* MORE protocol, a routing protocol
* Missouri Research and Education Network
Music Albums
* ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...
''). When making ''Africa Addio'', lyrics were added to Ortolani's title theme, making a song called "Who Can Say?" that was sung by
Jimmy Roselli
Michael John "Jimmy" Roselli (December 26, 1925 – June 30, 2011) was one of the most significant Italian-American pop singers of his time, during an era of competition from such performers as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Perry Co ...
. The song did not appear in the film, but (unlike the successful song ''More'' spawned by ''Mondo Cane'') did appear on the
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
soundtrack album.
Post-production
Prior to the film's release, allegations that a scene depicting the execution of a
Congolese Simba Rebel was actually a murder done for the cameras. This resulted in co-director Gualtiero Jacopetti being arrested on charges of
snuff filming. The film's footage was seized by police, and the editing process was halted during the legal proceedings. He was acquitted after he and co-director Franco Prosperi produced documents proving they had arrived at the scene just before the execution took place.
[
A tie-in book with the same title, written by John Cohen, was released by Ballantine to coincide with the film's release.]
Release
Different versions
Various cuts of the film have appeared over the years. The Italian and French versions were edited and were provided with narration by Jacopetti himself. The American version, with the explicitly shocking title ''Africa: Blood and Guts'', was re-released in 1970 by Jerry Gross' company Cinemation Industries and had 40 minutes cut out, mainly traces of political context, and was edited and translated without the approval of Jacopetti. Indeed, the differences are such that Jacopetti has called this film “a betrayal of the original idea”. Notable differences are thus present between the Italian and English-language versions in terms of the text of the film. Many advocates of the film feel that it has unfairly maligned the original intentions of the filmmakers. For example, the subtitled translation of the opening crawl in the Italian version reads:
"The Africa of the great explorers, the huge land of hunting and adventure adored by entire generations of children, has disappeared forever. To that age-old Africa, swept away and destroyed by the tremendous speed of progress, we have said farewell. The devastation, the slaughter, the massacres which we assisted belong to a new Africa – one which if it emerges from its ruins to be more modern, more rational, more functional, more conscious – will be unrecognizable.
"On the other hand, the world is racing toward better times. The new America rose from the ashes of a few white man, all the redskins, and the bones of millions of buffalo. The new, carved up Africa will rise again upon the tombs of a few white men, millions of black men, and upon the immense graveyards that were once its game reserves. The endeavor is so modern and recent that there is no room to discuss it at the moral level. The purpose of this film is only to bid farewell to the old Africa that is dying and entrust to history the documentation of its agony"
The English version:
"The old Africa has disappeared. Untouched Jungles, huge herds of game, high adventure, the happy hunting ground – those are the dreams of the past. Today there is a new Africa - modern and ambitious. The old Africa died amidst the massacres and devastations we filmed. But revolutions, even for the better, are seldom pretty. America was built over the bones of thousands of pioneers and revolutionary soldiers, hundreds of thousands of Indians, and millions of Bison. The new Africa emerges over the graves of thousands of whites and Arabs, and millions of blacks, and over the bleak boneyards that once were the game reserves.
"What the camera sees, it films pitilessly, without sympathy, without taking sides. Judging is for you to do, later. This film only says farewell to the old Africa, and gives to the world the pictures of its agony."
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
lists the total runtime as 140 minutes, and a 'complete' version on YouTube runs closest to that at 138 minutes, 23 seconds. This is an Italian language version, with a clear soundtrack and legible English subtitling. IMDb lists the different runtimes for previously released versions: USA- 122'; Norway- 124'; and Sweden- 116'. An English-language version currently released by Blue Underground runs 128 minutes. The film was released as ''Africa Blood and Guts'' in the USA in 1970, at only 83 minutes (over 45 minutes removed in order to focus exclusively on scenes of carnage); according to the text of the box for the Blue Underground release, directors Jacopetti and Prosperi both disowned this version. An R-rated version runs at 80 minutes.
Reception and legacy
Praise
Praise was usually directed at the film's music and visuals, as well as the courage of the filmmakers to deliver such unique and risky footage to the world, especially of massacres that would have been covered up. ''Africa Addio'' features the only known combat footage of the Congo Mercenaries, and the only known visual evidence of the Arab genocide during the Zanzibar Revolution. In Italy, it won the 1966 David di Donatello award
The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the '' Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award ca ...
for producer Angelo Rizzoli
Angelo Rizzoli, OML (; 31 October 1889 – 24 September 1970) was an Italian publisher and film producer.
Early life
Rizzoli was born in Milan on 31 October 1889. Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, he rose to prosperity. He appren ...
. Some conservative publications, such as Italy's ''Il Tempo
''Il Tempo'' (meaning ''Time'' in English) is a daily Italian newspaper published in Rome, Italy.
History and profile
''Il Tempo'' was founded in Rome by Renato Angiolillo in 1944. At the initial phase the newspaper was a conservative publicat ...
'', praised the film.[ In 1968 at the ]Carnival of Viareggio
The Carnival of Viareggio ( it, Carnevale di Viareggio) is a carnival event annually held in the Tuscan city of Viareggio, in Italy. It is considered amongst the most renowned carnival celebrations in both Italy and Europe.
Overview
Its main ...
, a float
Float may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Albums
* ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000
* ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008
* ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013
Songs
* "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022
* "Float", by Bush ...
inspired by the film took part and made by the master of papier-mâché Il Barzella. Some items from this float, along with other memorabilia including a copy of the book by John Cohen, are kept in Museum of Dizionario del Turismo Cinematografico in Verolengo
Verolengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin.
Origin
The origin of the name Verolengo seems to be linked to the numerous pig farms (verro, also present ...
.
Many commentators, however, accused it of racism and misrepresentation.[ Jacopetti and Prosperi responded to criticism of the film by defending their intentions. In the 2003 documentary ''The Godfathers of Mondo'', Prosperi argues that the criticism was due to the fact that, "The public was not ready for this kind of truth," and Jacopetti explicitly states that the film “was not a justification of colonialism, but a condemnation for leaving the continent in a miserable condition.”][Provocateur Gualtiero Jacopetti Dead at 91: Honoring the Man Behind the Mondo Movies]
Richard Corliss, August 21, 2011 The subsequent film collaboration between the two men, '' Addio Zio Tom'', explored the horrors of American racial slavery and was intended (in part) to combat the charges of racism leveled against them following the release of ''Africa Addio'' (though that, too, was criticized for perceived racism).[
]
Criticism
Film directors Octavio Getino and Fernando Solanas
Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, and politician. His films include; '' La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces)'' (1968), '' Tangos: el exilio de Gardel'' ...
harshly criticized the film in their manifesto '' Toward a Third Cinema'', calling Jacopetti a fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
, and asserting that in the film, man is "viewed as a beast," and is "turned into an extra who dies so Jacopetti can comfortably film his execution."
Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, in a scathing 1967 review of the shortened American version of the film, called it "racist" and stated that it "slanders a continent." He drew attention to the opening narration:
"Europe has abandoned her baby," the narrator mourns, "just when it needs her the most." Who has taken over, now that the colonialists have left? The advertising spells it out for us: "Raw, wild, brutal, modern-day savages!"[Africa Addio review](_blank)
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, April 25, 1967
US Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
condemned the film as "grossly distorted" and "socially irresponsible," noting the protests of five African UN delegates. In West Germany, a protest movement against the film emerged after ''Africa Addio'' was awarded by the state-controlled movie rating board. The protest was chiefly organized by the Socialist German Student Union (SDS) and groups of African students. In West Berlin, the distributor resigned from showing the film after a series of demonstrations and damage to cinemas.
Staging allegations
Despite the filmmakers vehemently denying that anything in the film was staged, widespread rumors still claim that various scenes are inauthentic for entertainment purposes. Jacopetti has repeatedly stated that all images in the film are real and that nothing was ever staged.[See the interview with Jacopetti from 1988, reprinted Amok Journal: Sensurround Edition, edited by S. Swezey (Los Angeles: AMOK, 1995), pp. 140-171] In the documentary ''The Godfathers of Mondo'', Jacopetti and Prosperi stressed that the only scenes they ever staged were in ''Mondo Cane 2''.['A Dog's World: The Mondo Cane Collection](_blank)
Bill Gibron, December 1, 2003 In the same documentary, Prosperi described their filmmaking philosophy: “Slip in, ask, never pay, never reenact.”[
]
References
Bibliography
* Stefano Loparco, 'Gualtiero Jacopetti - Graffi sul mondo', Il Foglio Letterario, 2014 - (The book contains unpublished documents and the testimonies of Carlo Gregoretti, Franco Prosperi, Riz Ortolani, Katyna Ranieri
Caterina Ranieri (31 August 1925 – 3 September 2018), known professionally as Katyna Ranieri, was an Italian singer.
Biography
Ranieri was born in Follonica in 1925. She had her first hit in 1954 at the Sanremo Music Festival with the song " ...
, Giampaolo Lomi, Pietro Cavara e Gigi Oliviero).
External links
*
*
*
*
Africa Addio online
at Internet Archive
{{Authority control
1966 films
Films directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti
Films shot in Angola
Italian documentary films
Mondo films
Documentary films about African resistance to colonialism
1966 documentary films
Documentary films about Africa
Films scored by Riz Ortolani
Films produced by Angelo Rizzoli
Films shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Films shot in Tanzania
Films shot in Kenya
Films shot in South Africa
1960s Italian-language films
1960s Italian films