My Voice ( Nha Fala )

My Voice (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Nha Fala
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Subtitles )
Portuguese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Portuguese ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
89 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2002 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Luxembourg ( France, Benelux )
Portugal ( Spain, Portugal )

Directed By:
Flora Gomes

Written By:
Flora Gomes
Franck Moisnard

Actors:
Fatou N'Diaye ..... Vita
Jean-Christophe Dollé ..... Pierre
Ângelo Torres ..... Yano
Bia Gomes ..... Vita's Mother
Jorge Quintino Biague ..... Mito the madman
Carlos Imbombo ..... Caminho
François Hadji-Lazaro ..... Bjorn
Danièle Evenou ..... Pierre's mother
Bonnafet Tarbouriech ..... Pierre's father

Synopsis:

A young African woman learns that finding love and happiness need not come at the sacrifice of one's identity in director Flora Gomes 2002 romantic musical My Voice. Young and beautiful, Vita (Fatou N'Diaye) decides to leave her home in West Africa to study in Paris. Before Vita leaves, her mother (Bia Gomes) nervously reminds her of the family curse stating that any female in their lineage who sings will be struck dead. Vita reassures her mother that she will do no such thing and leaves to begin her new life. Shortly after arriving in Paris, however, she meets and falls in love with a young French musician named Pierre (Jean-Christophe Dolle), who -- in a moment of romantic abandon -- convinces Vita to sing. Pierre's astonishment at Vita's obvious talent for music prompts him to convince her to record an album, which she does but almost immediately regrets upon remembering her promise to her mother about the curse. As the record achieves an unheralded success throughout France, Vita gradually becomes convinced that the curse was nonsense and decides to return to Africa to convince her mother and the rest of the villagers of her discovery. Chosen for inclusion in the 2002 Berlin Film Festival, My Voice was also the sole film from the continent of Africa in that year's festival.

It has always been a firm conviction of the family that any woman who sings, will die. Now, while a girl is in France she becomes an international star. She realises that sooner rather than later her mother in Africa will learn that she sings. To solve this dilemma she goes back to her native village and arranges her own funeral, albeit with instantaneous rebirth. She is lying in the coffin while all invited guest form a queue and pass the coffin one by one. When she needs go to the toilet a boy will take her place. And then one of the guests says: How different she looks after having died. Is this an allusion to Bergman's movie 'Now About These Women'?

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 20 April, 2007.

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