The Train of Salt and Sugar Participates in Luxor African Film Festival

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Winner of the Silver Pyramid at the Cairo International Film Festival

The Train of Salt and Sugar Participates in Luxor African Film Festival


The Train of Salt and Sugar by director Licínio Azevedo takes part in the 9 th Luxor African Film
Festival (March 6-12) within its Diaspora Section. The film previously won two awards; the Silver
Pyramid Award for Best Director at the Cairo International Film Festival and Best Film at the Joburg
Film Festival. The film will screen on March 7 at 6:00 PM at Misr Public Library (MPL).

Regarded as one of the foundation's most important projects, the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF)
is organized by the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF), which is a non-profit entity that is
registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The Festival aims to connect the Egyptian culture to
its African roots, and de-centralize cultural or artistic events, which are always organized in Cairo and
Alexandria, and move them to Luxor.

In the midst of war-torn Mozambique, a perilous train journey through the country encompasses
civilian passengers, who are both protected and harassed by a troop of ill-disciplined soldiers on
board to fight off a rebel army in the bush.

The film took part in more than 20 film festivals, including Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia, Afrika
Film Festival Köln in Germany, Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal, Rio de Janeiro
International Film Festival, Festival du cinéma Africain de Khouribga in Morocco, International Film
Festival of India, and Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Directed and written by Licinio Azevedo and co-written by Teresa Pereira, The Train of Salt and
Sugar stars Melanie de Vales Rafael, Thiago Justino, Matamba Joaquim. MAD Solutions handles the
film’s Arab world distribution.

Licínio Azevedo is a Mozambican filmmaker and writer. Brazilian born, he started as a journalist in
Latin America, arriving in Mozambique in search of good postcolonial stories, later compiled in a
book. He worked closely with Ruy Guerra, Godard and Jean Rouch at the National Institute of
Mozambique in the years that followed the Mozambican Independence.

He has directed over twenty films, distributed worldwide, since 1980, and is the co-founder of one of
Mozambique’s most renowned film production companies – Ébano Multimédia. Licínio’s films are
hand in hand with the reality of Mozambique and its troubled political evolution. Between action
and documentary, Licinio mixes both genres, always inspired by storytelling events and compelling
characters.