TCHINDAS

A feature documentary directed by PABLO GARCÍA PÉREZ DE LARA and MARC SERENA

DOBLE BANDA presents TCHINDAS with TCHINDA ANDRADE, EDINHA PITANGA and ELVIS TOLENTINO
executive production YOLANDA OLMOS and MARC SERENA direction PABLO GARCÍA and MARC SERENA photography
PABLO GARCÍA sound recording MARC SERENA editing PABLO GARCÍA sound design VERÒNICA FONT postproduction and
associated production ZOCO SERVEIS AUDIOVISUALS graphic design BENDITA GLORIA in collaboration with FORA DE QUADRE
with the help of AJUNTAMENT DE BARCELONA and CONSELL NACIONAL DE JOVENTUT DE CATALUNYA

© produced by DOBLE BANDA

Within a small, tropical Cape Verdean Island, the beloved Tchinda is hard at work preparing for a Carnival she hopes will capture the town’s imagination.

Despite her great reputation, Tchinda remains humble and every afternoon she happily tours the neighborhood to sell her best “coxinhas”, a classic Brazilian treat: delicious fried balls of chicken.

Filmmakers Marc Serena and Pablo García Pérez de Lara have crafted a lush, perceptive documentary that at times feels akin to a fairy tale. The film reveals a hidden landscape tucked far away from the world we know, where trans inclusion and teamwork make up the fundamental structure of a truly magical community and culture.

Shot in Mindelo, the island of São Vicente (Cape Verde)

94 minutes
Language: Cape Verdean Creole
2015

«Cape Verde became an independent country from Portugal in 1975, known worldwide because of its most international singer, Cesária Évora. Her songs are in Cape Verdean creole, a language without a dictionary that I’m lucky to somehow understand.

That’s why, four years ago, when I visited Cesária at her house, we could handle a conversation. I remember perfectly when she told me: “You have to come back again to see the Carnival, it’s the best of Africa!”. She died 36 hours later… so I took her words seriously and I came back to shoot this documentary».

Marc Serena

«It’s impressive to see a whole island working together to make something beautiful out of nothing. We observe them while hearing several local words impossible to fully translate like “sodade” (nostalgia often considered positive), “morabeza” (hospitality) and, obviously, “tchindas” (queer).

The island is a true exception for the way trans people are respected, it’s definitely an untold African story we all have to be proud of. We want to share it in a film that’s beautiful, sensitive, poetic, and a final celebration».

Pablo García Pérez de Lara

The directors

PABLO GARCÍA PÉREZ DE LARA (Barcelona, 1970) has directed two full-length films: Fuente Álamo, the Caress of Time (2001), selected in Karlovy Vary and Butterfly (2007), in the official section of Karlovy Vary and San Sebastián. His short film Alicia Portrayed (2002) was selected by the Semaine de la critique du festival de Cannes. He’s been the DoP of the acclaimed Familystrip from Luís Miñarro or The K Effect: Stalin’s Editor (2012) from Valentí Figueres, screened in 60 festivals. He teaches cinema in the school in the Cinema in Curs program.

MARC SERENA (Barcelona, 1983) is a journalist and normally works as a screenwriter for Spanish TV as TVC, TVE and Barcelona TV. He has published Un-African love? (2014), compiling queer voices from 15 African countries. His last feature documentary is The Writer From a Country Wihtout Bookstores (2019).

Executive producer

YOLANDA OLMOS (Barcelona, 1966) works for Doble Banda as an executive producer and director. Since 2001, she has produced sixteen audiovisual projects, mostly documentaries.