Screening Gender in Bissau-Guinean Vernacular Filmmaking

Vernacular film and audiovisual production in Guinea-Bissau, a viral success among its residents, are growing exponentially. Portraying ordinary events, they are widely available in informal screenings or shared on internet channels, reaching thousands of viewers within the country, as well as their diasporas in Europe. These films and audiovisual productions constitute valuable resources to study popular perceptions, namely those on gender issues. This paper revisits the history of gender politics in Guinea-Bissau to analyse how these vernacular productions are depicting the gender etransformations taking place in reaction to social and political instability, a field that lacks questioning and research. In addition to identifying common patterns in these narratives, the analysis seeks to contextualise them by exploring women’s and men’s participation in the labour and familiar realms, proposing a critical, attentive reading that considers the omissions in this film and audiovisual production to be, themselves, revealing as well.