# Licínio Azevedo

Licínio Silveira Azevedo (Licínio de Azevedo, Licínio Azevedo, Novo Hamburgo, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 1951) is a Brazilian–Mozambican journalist, film producer, screenwriter, and film director of award-winning documentaries and feature films.

## Biography

Born in Porto Alegre in 1951, journalist Azevedo left Brazil during the military dictatorship there for post-revolutionary Portugal in 1976, continuing to Guinea-Bissau where he trained journalists. He interviewed members of the liberation movement PAIGC on their struggle against Portugal and published the results with Da Paz Rodrigues in their book Diário da libertação : a Guiné-Bissau da nova África (Liberation diary: the Guinea-Bissau of the new Africa, 1977). Living in Mozambique since the 1970s, he reported on Frelimo's struggle in Relatos do povo armado (Stories from the armed people, 1983).
At the Maputo Instituto Nacional de Cinema de Moçambique (INC, National Cinema Institute of Mozambique, now Instituto Nacional de Audiovisual e Cinema de Moçambique INAC), Azevedo worked with film directors Ruy Guerra (born in Maputo, 1931) and Jean-Luc Godard (1930–2022). Azevedo became one of the founders of the Mozambican film production company Ébano Multimédia, and director and producer of various feature films and documentaries. His first medium-length fiction film The Great Bazaar (O Grande Bazar) and other films were presented at many film festivals, such as the Fribourg International Film Festival. His documentaries and drama feature films obtained seven prizes and three award nominations at film festivals.

## Books by Avezedo

Avezedo published a number of books in Portuguese, such as:
* Azevedo, Licínio; Da Paz Rodrigues, Maria (1977). Diário da libertação : a Guiné-Bissau da nova África [Liberation diary: the Guinea-Bissau of the new Africa]. Coleçaõ Testemunhos, 2. São Paulo: Versus. OCLC 462846146.
* Azevedo, Licínio (1983). Relatos do povo armado [Stories from the armed people]. Colecção Depoimentos, 1. Maputo: Cadernos Tempo. OCLC 10799692.
* Azevedo, Licínio (1995). Coração forte [Strong heart]. Lisboa: Edições Dinossauro. ISBN 9789728165024. OCLC 36203107.
* Azevedo, Licínio (1997). O comboio de sal e açúcar [The salt and sugar train]. Maputo: Ndjira. OCLC 40783711.

## Filmography

Azevedo's films include:
| Year | Film | Genre | Role | Duration (min) |
| 1985 | O Tempo dos Leopardos (The Time of the Leopards, Vreme leoparda) by Zdravko Velimirovic | War drama feature | Co-writer | 95 m |
| 1988 | A Colheita Do Diabo (The Devil's Harvest) | Feature | Director with Brigitte Bagnol | 54 m |
| 1990 | Marracuene (location) (Two Banks of a Mozambican River) | Documentary | Director | 43 m |
| 1992 | Adeus RDA (Farewell GDR) | Docufiction | Director | 26 m |
| 1994 | A Árvore dos Antepassados (The Tree of Ancestors) | Drama feature | Director | 50 m |
| 1996 | The Water War (A Guerra da Água) | Documentary | Director, co-writer | 73 m |
| 1997 | Tchuma Tchato | Documentary | Director | 56 m |
| 1998 | Massassane (Afela Kwatine) | Documentary | Director | 46 m |
| 1999 | A Última Prostituta (The Last Prostitute) | Drama fiction | Director | 48 m |
| 2000 | Histórias Comunitárias (Community Stories) | Documentary series | Director and screenwriter with Orlando Mesquita | 6 x 26 m |
| 2001 | A Ponte (The Bridge) | Documentary | Director | 52 m |
| 2002 | Eclipse | Short drama documentary | Producer | 25 m |
| 2003 | Disobedience (Desobediência) | Drama feature | Director, screenwriter | 92 m |
| 2003 | Mãos de Barro (Hands of Clay) | Documentary | Screenwriter | 50 m |
| 2005 | The Demining Camp (Acampamento de Desminagem) | Documentary | Director, screenwriter, coproducer | 60 m |
| 2006 | The Great Bazaar (O Grande Bazar) | Drama feature | Director, screenwriter | 56 m |
| 2007 | Night Lodgers (Hóspedes da Noite) | Documentary | Director, screenwriter, producer | 52 or 53 m |
| 2010 | A Ilha dos Espíritos (L'Île des Esprits / Island of the Spirits) | Documentary | Director, screenwriter | 90 m |
| 2011 | Crônicas de Moçambique by Margarida Cardoso (Licinio de Azevedo, chroniques du Mozambique) | Documentary portrait | Interviewee | 88 m |
| 2012 | Virgin Margarida (Virgem Margarida) | Drama feature | Director, co-writer | 90 m |
| 2016 | The Train of Salt and Sugar (Comboio de Sal e Açúcar, Le Train de Sel et de Sucre) | Drama feature | Director, screenwriter, producer | 93 m |
| 2021 | Nhinguitimo (Vent du Sud) | Short, drama | Director | 23 m |

## Awards

Azevedo's films obtained seven prizes and three nominations, including:
| Film | Festival | Award |
| Desobediência (Disobedience, 2003) | Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming | 2003 Silver FIPA Fiction |
| Acampamento de Desminagem (The Demining Camp) | CinePort | 2005 Andorinha Digital Award Best Documentary |
| Hóspedes da Noite (Night Lodgers, 2007) | Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming | 2008 Golden FIPA Reports and Social Issues |
| Virgem Margarida (Virgin Margarida, 2012) | Amiens International Film Festival | 2012 Audience Award Best Film, 2012 SIGNIS Award – Special Mention |
| Comboio de Sal e Açúcar (The Train of Salt and Sugar, 2016) | Cairo International Film Festival | 2016 Silver Pyramid Best Director |
| Comboio de Sal e Açúcar | Carthage Film Festival | 2017 Tanit d'or Narrative Feature Film |