"There's a nonfiction film playing in NYC this week (and some other cities) that offers a rare view inside Angola, a country that is largely closed to outside reporters.
Jeremy Xido's Death Metal Angola takes place in Huambo (in the country's interior, founded as Nova Lisboa, a colonial railroad terminal, in the early 20th century.) Unfortunately for its residents, Huambo was a UNITA stronghold;
Jonas Savimbi declared it to be his capital. So it was bombed practically out of existence, from the ground (including street-to-street battles) but mostly from the air, by the MPLA (i.e., by the Angolan government) and was in ruins from about '94 on. Now the guns are silent; the Angolan Civil War ended in 2002.
That's not what the movie's about, but that's the background that explains the movie's landscape. DMA follows the attempt to stage Angola's first death metal festival, with Angolan bands, at an orphanage for boys (the movie's unanswered question is: what happened to the girls?) in Huambo. The performance footage is compelling -- the cathartic effects of this style of music have never been better displayed. And I take my hat off to anyone who can make a movie in Angola." Ned Sublette
