Isabel Noronha facts for kids

Isabel Helena Vieira Cordato de Noronha, born on March 18, 1964, is a talented film director from Mozambique. She is known for telling important stories through her movies.

Isabel Noronha's Life Story

Isabel Noronha was born in 1964 in a city called Lourenço Marques. This city is now known as Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. At that time, Mozambique was under the rule of Portugal, which is called the Portuguese colonial period. Her father was a doctor from Goa, and her mother was from Mozambique.

Starting Her Film Career

In 1984, when she was 20 years old, Isabel began her journey in filmmaking. She started at the National Cinema Institute. Here, she learned many different jobs in movie making. She worked as a production assistant, helped the director, and managed the film's flow. She also helped with production and eventually became a director.

She learned from other Mozambican filmmakers. They worked on a weekly 10-minute news program called Kuxa Kanema: The Birth of Cinema. This was a way for the government to share news. They showed these short films in places where people didn't have TVs or movie theaters. During this time, Isabel made her first two documentary films: Hosi Katekisa Moçambique and Manjacaze. The mid-1980s were a very important time for movies in Mozambique.

Around this time, she was part of a group of new filmmakers. They made O Tempo dos Leopardos (Time of the Leopards). This movie is thought to be the first full-length film made in Mozambique.

Becoming an Independent Filmmaker

In 1986, the government stopped giving money to the National Cinema Institute. Many filmmakers, including Isabel, lost their jobs. Isabel then started working as an independent filmmaker. This means she made movies on her own, without government funding. She also helped start Coopimagem, which was the first video cooperative for Mozambican directors.

In 1991, she created Así na Cidade (Once upon a time in the city). This was a documentary about young people who had been child soldiers. They were war refugees who sold newspapers in Maputo.

Studying Psychology

In the same year, 1991, Isabel had her daughter. She decided to follow another dream: studying psychology. She went to the Polytechnic University in Maputo. In 2002, she earned her degree in clinical psychology. She then continued to study psychoanalysis, social psychology, and communications. In 2007, she completed her master's degree in mental health and social work in Spain.

Combining Film and Psychology

In 2003, Isabel started to combine her work as a psychotherapist with her filmmaking. With help from a movie fund, she made the documentary film Sonhos Guardados (Guarded Dreams). In 2007, she made her first full-length movie, Ngwenya, o crocodilo (Ngwenya the Crocodile). This film was about a famous Mozambican artist named Malangatana Valente Ngwenya.

One of her most well-known works is the New Family Trilogy, Trilogia das Novas Famílias. This is a series of three documentary films. They are about a new type of family that appeared in Mozambique. These families were made up of children who had lost their parents because of the AIDS epidemic.

Awards and Recognition

Isabel Noronha has received several awards for her important work.

• In 2009, she won the Cineposible Film Festival Creative Woman award. This was for her film Mãe dos Netos (Mother of the Grandchildren).
• In the same year, she won the Janela para o Mundo (Window to the World) award. This was for the best documentary film, Ngwenya, o crocodilo. She received this award at the Africa, Asia and Latin American Film Festival in Milan.

Selected Films by Isabel Noronha

• 1987: Manjacaze
• 1987: Hosi Katekissa Moçambique
• 1992: Assim na Cidade
• 1995: Mães da Terra
• 2004: Sonhos Guardados
• 2007: Ngwenya, o Crocodilo
• 2008: Trilogia das Novas Famílias
• 2008: Mãe dos Netos
• 2010: Espelho Meu (Espejito)
• 2019: Sonhámos Um País" (with Camilo de Sousa)

See also

In Spanish: Isabel Noronha para niños

• List of female film and television directors