TIFF ’12: ‘The Great Kilapy’ Trailer

This year’s Toronto Film Festival has officially begun, and as the reviews come pouring in for big features like Looper and Cloud Atlas, we thought we’d continue to highlight some of the lesser-known titles premiering at the fest.  Here we has the trailer for The Great Kilapy, also known as O Grande Kilapy, from Angolan director Zeze Gamboa. The film takes place in the 70’s in Angola, during the even of their independence from Portugal.  The film looks beautiful, and makes for another must-see at TIFF.  Hit the jump for the trailer and film notes from TIFF.

In the Angolan language of Kimbundu, kilapy means scheme, fraud, or swindle, and accordingly, The Great Kilapy tells the story of a crooked but irresistible bon vivant who, on the eve of Angolan independence in 1975, pulls off a massive swindle at the expense of the Portuguese colonial administration. Inspired by a real figure, director Zézé Gamboa’s decade-spanning historical drama is a refreshing take on the national liberation story, and turns its conventions upside down with elegance and humour.

Gamboa offers a witty and compelling portrait of the last decade of Portuguese rule in Angola, and incisively depicts the world of wealth, glamour and insouciance in which the elite class moves against the background of the colonial regime’s collapse. Colorful, charming, and featuring an authentic soundtrack of the country’s rich Angolan music from the 1970s, The Great Kilapy is a vivid testament to the vitality of African cinema.

Thanks to Twitch for finding the Trailer for this film.