The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder

A man returns to his grandparents' village after the civil war in Mozambique and must confront the ghosts of the past. The film draws clear parallels to the works of Joshua Oppenheimer.

During the civil war, his grandmother protected him from the war raging around them. In The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder, the spotlight is turned towards the dark chapter in the country's history. Through nightmarish images, sounds, and the absence of pictures, this period is slowly and fragmentarily explored through archival footage from 1977 to 1992, juxtaposed with the survivors' stories.

Director Inadelso Cossa has made a formally masterful documentary about a time many of the country's inhabitants try to repress, but which comes back in the darkness of night as an echo from the past. The film had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

«Through sensory imagery and interviews with the villagers, Cossa delves into the lingering echoes of conflict, weaving together personal recollections and archival footage in order to put his mind at rest and resolve repressed traumas from the event.»

– Nikola Jovic, Eye for Film –