Ganga Zumba (film)

Ganga Zumba
Directed byCarlos Diegues
Screenplay byLeopoldo Serran
Rubem Rocha Filho
Carlos Diegues
Based onNovel by João Felício dos Santos
StarringAntonio Pitanga
Lea Garcia
Eliezer Gomes
Release date
  • 16 April 1963 (1963-04-16)
CountryBrazil

Ganga Zumba is a Brazilian film made in 1963 by Carlos Diegues and released in the USA in 1972 about slavery in Brazil. It portrays the escape of a group of slaves who hope to bring the next leader to the Quilombo dos Palmares. Its soundtrack was composed by Moacir Santos and played by Nara Leão, with African rituals and dance performed by the Sons of Gandhy group. It was filmed in accurate locations as proposed by the Cinema Novo. Also present in the movie were the musicians Cartola and Dona Zica.

Based on a book written by João Felício dos Santos, Ganga Zumba, the movie discusses the context of sugar production in the Brazilian Northeast during the 1600s, when slaves would flee from the Portuguese plantations and create their own villages, highlighting the Quilombo do Palmares' role in this process.