João Ribeiro – Between cinema and television

When talking about João Ribeiro to the general Mozambican public, the name is associated with the success of “O último voo do flamingo” (Last Flamingo Flight), the feature film that earned him public recognition, as well as international awards. But this producer and film director “comes from afar”.

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With a brand in television, João Ribeiro, although seeying audiovisual improving in several aspects, believes that it is not yet sustainable given current market conditions. “We are one of the countries that have the most free-to-air television, there are around thirty or forty registered television channels.”

This number of channels would be a good sign for the industry, if there was variety in the content. “We could have more specialized channels. Sports channels, documentary channels, science channels, research channels, but we don’t have any of that.”

Currently, João Ribeiro leads Maningue Magic, which is, in a way, revolutionizing the content production market. The channel’s strategy has involved hiring producers to create quality content. “People like it, they pay to watch the channel. If there had been more investment, we would certainly be fine.”

João Ribeiro uses the example of the work developed by the channel he is directing as proof that there is the capacity and professionals to create. “We launched a tender and received sixty-one proposals for series projects. There is an internal capacity to do things. Of course they are not all good, but we have around fifty production projects, with budget, with ideas, with synopses, an entire structure. Therefore, there is this production capacity.”

The great demand for professionals also proves that it is necessary to create a source of financing. A single channel effort is not enough.

“We pay the production to receive this quality content. No other channel is doing this. It’s the first time this has happened in Mozambique. We also have a soap opera that airs every day, which also has its cost.”

João Ribeiro’s passion, which began with photography at a young age, is cinema. A passion that is far from sustainable.

“We already had an industry because we had a value chain, which not only allowed production, but also the broadcast of content and distribution across the country. Today we have none of this. We have a group of people who make experimental cinema or auteur cinema, we don’t have anything at the moment that resembles what is called the film industry.”

João Ribeiro’s position is justified by the current national context. Currently, there is only one commercial cinema in Maputo, and probably a few more in the provinces. Which in no way can be profitable, although there is a certain dynamic, due to the performance of cultural centers which, however, do not cope with what a business in the silver screen could be.

Apart from the difficult financing or investment scenario, he says that it is an area that “makes money”.

“Within our profession, within what we do, obviously we make money. When we make a film we earn a salary and sometimes a very good one.”

But it is in other areas of audiovisual where the money circulates the most.

“Today in Mozambique you earn well in advertising. For a one-minute advertising spot, you can make around 80 to 100 thousand dollars. But also, obviously, that the people involved in this work earn according to the demands of that work.”

It is clear that at the moment his focus is on television, and the change he is generating for audiovisual professionals is notable. But the path will lead him back, one day, to the movies.

“That’s what I’ve always enjoyed doing. But doing this, as was the case with my last feature film “Avó Dezanove e o Segredo do Soviético” (Grandma Nineteen and the Secret of the Soviet), takes ten to twelve years. Unfortunately, this kind of production is not fast, unlike other types of work. That’s what I like to do, but what actually gives me money, I’ve yet to discover.”

Edição 80 Jul/Ago/ Set| Download.