Mobility and its Discontent – the poetics of Lusophone films on migration

Complex reasons have inspired movements, settlements and relocations between Portugal and its former colonies over more than five centuries and established a dense network of historical, cultural and socio-political relationships. After decolonisation the migrational fluxes between the members of what is now the Community of Countries with Portuguese Language (CPLP) keep shifting according to the demands and chances of our globalized world. The captivating link between the fluctuation from one country or region to another – during colonialism and in its aftermath – and the construction of cinematic imaginaries within the Lusophone world are the focus of this talk. It claims that the mythical imaginary around the concepts of lusophony and luso-tropicalism have persisted in films on migration, as much in national as in transnational productions. In this lecture I will offer a panorama of these films and show that there are exceptions, being the award-winning Luso-Afro-Brazilian coproduction Tabu (2012), by Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes, an important example within Portuguese-speaking film, since it engages critically with the discontents of colonial mobility.