Middle East & Africa
Antonio Ole
Documentary o ritmo do n’gola ritmos (Rhythm of N’gola Rhythms)
1978
Antonio Ole, Documentary o ritmo do n’gola ritmos (Rhythm of N’gola Rhythms), 1978
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Antonio Ole’s Rhythm of N’gola Rhythms (1978), is a film about the struggle for Angolan political independence. It looks at the role of popular culture and labor strikes through the 40s and 50s following the band Ngola Ritmos who embarked upon a consciousness-raising mission with their pro-independence political music. Through both their clandestine activities and their music, the band is credited with aiding political mobilization take off in Angola. Performing mainly in the Bairro Operário, the group emerged from struggle, and their music remains an important part of Angolan musical heritage.
António Ole is one of Angola's most influential artists. Over the years he has developed an eclectic body of work in which drawing, cartoons, collage, painting, sculpture, photography, video, and cinema organically combine and feed into one another in a constant loop. António Ole studied African American Culture and Cinema at the University of California in Los Angeles. According to his gallery, Movart, “the elements the artist uses in his works evoke the colonial period, slavery, war, destruction, human nature, and the ability to resist and survive.”