Africa Addio (Farewell Africa)
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Africa Addio (Farewell Africa)

1966, History  -   59 Comments
6.61
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Ratings: 6.61/10 from 31 users.

Africa Addio (Farewell Africa)Africa Addio is an Italian documentary film made in 1966 about the end of the colonial era in Africa. The film was released under the names Africa Blood and Guts in the USA (which was only half of the entire film) and Farewell Africa in the UK.

The movie documents some of the disruptions caused by decolonization, such as poaching in former animal preserves and bloody revolutions, including the Zanzibar revolution which resulted in the massacre of approximately 5000 Arabs in 1964. In most of its edited incarnations, the movie leaves out mention of similar atrocities that were committed under colonial powers.

While the film claims to dispassionately show reality, it has been criticized as biased by many viewers over the years (perhaps most notably Roger Ebert). The film was shot over a period of three years, by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, two Italian filmmakers who had gained fame a few years earlier (with co-director Paolo Cavara) as the directors of Mondo Cane in 1962.

This film launched the so-called Mondo film genre, a cycle of documentaries or shockumentaries which often featured sensational topics, of which Africa Addio is arguably a part (it is included in the Mondo Cane Collection currently being distributed by Blue Underground). (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

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Carl B
Carl B
6 years ago

This is a fantastic documentary. Personally never seen anything like it, so beautiful and so repulsive and brutal at the same time. The accounts of violence are incredibly real and chilling - because they indeed are real. This is what was happening in Africa post 1960, and what in many parts of Africa continues by this day.

It is harsh, naturalistic, but also in its strange way beautiful and profound. The cinematography, music make for an incredible and fascinating viewing. The documentary is certainly not political, it's simply realistic. As a matter of fact, its creators were seconds from being executed by the revolutionary guards, during the making of the movie.

It's caught on cam in the film itself. I remember they also comment on how the past atrocities committed by the previous rulers of the Belgian Congo turned against the remainder of its European population.

Michael
Michael
6 years ago

The narration is racist, eurocentric garbage, yes...but without a doubt the footage is incredible

I have seen it a couple times and I can make one very high recommendation: If you want to enjoy the pure footage just mute the volume and listen to some music or something. It goes very well with long psychedelic tracks or classical music.

As a warning it is some of the most intense footage I have ever seen, and is not an easy watch. But it appears authentic and is therefore very important to watch from a film-makers or photographer perspective. Best to just ignore the audio.

cat
cat
7 years ago

How_delightful - wow so much bs coming from one should be illegal, you are so ignorant !!

Donny
Donny
8 years ago

Reading the comments I am disgusted by the amount of ignorance that exists. So many europeans defend the atrocities comitted by european imperialism until today. Pretending as if africans where somehow inferior by nature and better of being enslaved and torchered. So many false claims and so much ignorant avoiding of reality. The whole history of europe has been rewritten to make it appear as if europeans have always been dominant. Arent zou intrested what realy went on. Southern Europe, parts of Italy as well has been under african and arab control for over almost 1000 years. It was a time of science where the ancient greek texts where discovered and tranlated in to arabic. Africans where far ahead the europeans for most of the time in human history. Ancient egypt is the greatest civilization ever and existed thousands of years, while °whites° still lived like cavemen. In Rome western Europeans especially germanic tribes and everything further west or north, where considered primitive apemen and where subjects to slavery. After rome fell the germanic tribees took over and the christian church was created. Then the moors took over. After the christians finally fought off the muslim empire reigning over europe for 700 years they fell back in to the °dark ages° middeaval times where horrible. People where incredibly ignorant. And everyone was a slave. Born to work on a piece of land that was not his. Even kings lived like beggars stinking from their own fecies. All the progress that existed with the romans and the moors was lost again. Just in the renaissance the western europeans for the first time began understanding ancient knowledge. That is when thez started to take over and kill of anyone in their way. Not exactly a glorious history and far from always being advanced.

BigBlue
BigBlue
9 years ago

Shocking atrocities by whites on blacks, blacks on whites, blacks on blacks, and all wiping out the wild life.

It confirms what I've said previously, black people in Africa have
suffered the worst atrocities, .........at the hand of black people.

urban deadite
urban deadite
11 years ago

Wow all these posts miss the point about this documentary i think it is not what all people think or the way all people view things it is a program made by a few people for sensationalism.

Europeans and Arabs did terrible things in parts of Africa, what about the Millions of White Slaves taken from Europe by Africans?, in fact entire coastlines of Southern Europe were deserted because of it.

Ghana had a a very advanced Culture and was a slave based society like many other in Africa throughout History like everywhere else in the World.

Look what has happened and is happening to the Bayaka/Aka people and not just by Europeans, Rwanda, Liberia the list is endless.

Shaka Zulu was one of the worlds greatest military leaders and he did not get an empire by loving his fellow African.

We should all remember the past but not live in it.

The list is endless and all it shows is that Humans all over the World can be nasty SOB's.

Get real people

HammyJ
HammyJ
11 years ago

Sad to say, I cant think of one African country today, that wasnt better off as a colony.....sadly the boundaries of African countries drawn up by the Europeans were artificial ones, thus encouraging the tribal strife that exists to this day....as well, the colonial powers made the mistake of not providing for, and then leaving, before there was a large enough educated workforce(aside from the military) that could run the countries schools, govt, medical systems, and judiciary.....what we are seeing is Africa devolving into its natural tribal state of affairs. But there is a new colonial power in Africa today, and that is China, who see Africa as nothing more than a storehouse of raw materials for their industries at home....Africans today have new colonial masters...Due to Chinese workers in Africa demand for ivory...the price of elephant ivory has gone from $4/Kg to$300/k. Same with rhino horn, resulting in the wholesale slaughter of these animals. Cheap Chinese trade goods are dumped on African markets...destroying any chance of local industries to improve the countries economies. By the time the Chinese are done with Africa, it will make the Europeans at many times misguided and cruel colonialism look like child's play.

Ciérrabella
Ciérrabella
11 years ago

everyones going on about racism , ...all i can think about is those poor f****** cows :(

g isaac
g isaac
11 years ago

Africa is the birthplace of mankind. When we rape her and pillage the land then we have done it to our own mothers and daughters. In all your intelligence use your common sense first. Stop talking like you don't know...

foad_sefi
foad_sefi
11 years ago

Okello will pay with the hellfire for what he did to the arabs in Zanzibar.. Ameen.

WallyWollowitz
WallyWollowitz
12 years ago

What exactly did the white Europeans do to the Africans? I know that they gave them, They gave them schools, hospitals, education, transportation, housing, resources to improve their living standards. When the first white men arrived in Africa, the Africans were living in squalid conditions in tribal communities. They had no running water, No toilet facilities, No medical facilities, No education facilities. I can go on and on…. What are you all on about the video being biased, all that stuff happens as they were filmed. Do you for one moment think that they staged any of it. I was 16 years old when I first saw the movie, and when I was 17 I was in the Second Chimurenga. Robert Mugabe is still there, put there by people such as you, people that have a loud voice but don’t know what they ARE TALKING ABOUT. Your outlook on life has been shaped by propaganda that you are unaware of. You watch too many soap operas and your brain has been pre-formatted. Shame on you for letting that happen to yourself.
The same things are still happening today, take Joseph Kony, Robert Mugabe and many more over the years. I was there, can any of you claim that. I saw it all. I am a white man that was born Africa. I like to refer to myself as a euroafrican. I will never be ashamed of my whiteness and I don’t expect a black man to be ashamed of his blackness. Everybody discriminates in one way or another. I have black friends and white friends, I choose to choose my friends, but some people white or black are a shame to the human race. These people white and black are clearly shown in this movie Africa Addio. Nothing about this video is good, it is all bad, but its true.

Herald
Herald
12 years ago

What this video didnt show people was what the Europeans did to the Africans when the Africans tried to stand up for their human rights and freedom.
Its a propaganda to make the Europeans look good.
Its hard to look good when you have destroyed a whole continent by subdividing it recklessly, introducing diseases such as AIDS, polio and others, introducing tribalism, impoverishing the young African governments with debt so as to control them etc etc
Ofcourse the Europeans will get away with all that because they control the cheese. What they wont be able to do is make the world forget.

Cas
Cas
12 years ago

OMG...AT 25:00....You see soundtrack used which illustrates the propaganda nature of the filming...THEY ARE ACTUALLY PLAYING THE COLONIZERS AS THE VICTIMS.......The level of delusion is EPIC!!!

Cas
Cas
12 years ago

This is a level of racism journalism that tops it all....wooow! The hate and intention to can even be seen on the simple actions of zooming in ...cherry picking weird actions of rural leaders..etc...this is what shaped the minds of many old white people attitudes when they were young.....

Cas
Cas
12 years ago

You have to understand the level of western racist attitudes when the movie was made....to see why it is so grossly BIASED....a level of cherry picking realities to fit a preconceived narrative.

I think this should be taught in journalism classes....the show has no clear message but just to dazzle the audience with pictures of far away land with out of context realities only stitched together in the fallible mind of its creators.

lex lexich
lex lexich
12 years ago

people are sick, white or black it doesnt matter, we are the virus, we'll kill are host eventually

clix
clix
13 years ago

@ Ambricourt

By the middle of 20th century, colonization in the form known before that time has already fallen out of fashion. The most significant effort at colonization of Ethiopia was made by the Italians late in the early part of the century, and they were handily defeated by the Ethiopians in that conflict. They were also handily defeated in Libya, a country next door to them. You may want to consult some information about the period of European colonization in Africa. It started in the 16th century.

Most of Italy's colonization efforts in Africa were focused on East Africa, i.e. Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. They came very late in the game and were also considered some of the most repressive, cruel and racist colonizers.

You sound like a Nazi/Fascist empathizer. Yes, they lost and for a good reason. Their attrocites paled those of other Europeans in contrast.

Ambricourt
Ambricourt
13 years ago

Actually the Italians, like the Germans, were extremely good at colonization. In contrast, the British, French, Belgians and Dutch were exploitative and generally indifferent to benefiting the mass of conquered populations.

During World War 2, the battle between Italian and British forces for control of Ethiopia was hard-fought; and the Italian army, with limited resources, performed brilliantly. But the British were able to re-supply and won.

History is written by victors and this is more true of WW2 than of any other conflict in history. The focus on the British blitz, Nazi occupations of European countries, D-day and the heroic Anglo-American Alliance offers a false perspective by omitting or distorting terrible and larger events; the orthodox view underplays colonial conflicts in North and Central Africa, and heroizes blustering victors (British and Americans) at the expense of courageous losers (Italians and Germans).

clix
clix
13 years ago

Interesting such documentary was made by Italians of all Europeans. Italians failed miserably at colonization, even equipped with far advanced weapons than those they tried to colonize. One of the major efforts by Italians to enter the colonization fiasco was an attempt to colonize Ethiopia. After five years of indiscriminate fire bombing and merciless killing, they were still outsmarted and out-gunned.

There is a great deal of inferiority complex at display in the video.

Micheal
Micheal
13 years ago

Excellent documentary. How can independence be described as an "achievement" when it results in disaster for the average person ? The documentary shows revolting Africans killing for fun.

Andrea
Andrea
13 years ago

To sam:
the reason why the narrator is referring to Africans as "Negri", is that it is not a derogatory word in Italian. It comes from the Latin word for "black", and in Italian it means only-doh-black people. Whatever English speaking people decide to do of the word- making of it a derogatory term- why should it affect the Italian language? Italian language kept the meaning of the word close to its roots, black. English is not the center of the world, believe it or not. Why does Italians should change their language because someone else decided to make a bad use of theirs?

Enenyo
Enenyo
13 years ago

It's no suprise to hear white lies from white people the invaders and enslavers of our people.
This documentary is nothing but another white ignorant attempt to impose themselves on others so they can feel good and important, Africa never one day needed no help from outsiders untill white crusaders, exploiters,liars, cheats who came in various disguises as missionaries, explorers and europeans and Asian savages started coming around.
The truth is now out for all to see, Italians used chemical weapons on Africans while fighting to steal a part of Africa, Ethiopia.
The catholic church invented and promoted slavery from Rome, we Africans know how good Europeans are at lying, cheating, exploiting, manipulating, killing, lynching and how boldly they can turn around and blame their victims.
It's a big shame Europeans think they can get away with their ugliness.

Alina
Alina
13 years ago

girish zalera please contact me via facebook!!

girish zalera
girish zalera
13 years ago

I have no comment exept I am still looking for the ORIGINAL blac & white Africa Addio .
I do not remember sound of a helicopter flying above where I lived,but saw a single propeller aircraft flying around.

sam
sam
13 years ago

Don't watch this doc it's full of BS, also it's from a racially motivated stand point:)

sam
sam
13 years ago

I can't finish watching this doc,I also don't recommend anyone whom would like the facts to view it.It's so one sided it ridicules, next there going to say the barbaric AFRICAN'S revolt was unjust. Can someone also explain to me why the narrator is referring to the African's as the N word or is their not a more politically correct term in Italian.

girish zalera
girish zalera
13 years ago

I have seen the killings in zanzibar `64Jan while I was 6yrs old living off the Hollis Rd Batini in zanzibar I have seen/experienced a coupler of killings on the 12 th Jan 1964 but as a kid, it would be like seeing a movie.

Please I am looking for the original BLACK & WHITE movie shot by the Italian journalists with single proprller 2 aircrafts, one was arsoned & destroyed while landing on a runway and another just took off ,later it took some clips around the island .
I have seen one clip in colour shot by helicopter but I am sure it is not the original one.
If anyone has please inform, this is only 11or 12 minutes movie with OLD zanzibar market shots where a local woman with a gun is sitting by The Good Luck Stores smoking a cigarate.

best
gzalera

disko
disko
13 years ago

Just from reading the description of this film, as well as the previous comments, I'm choosing not to watch this doc.

Tim Osman
Tim Osman
13 years ago

Jesus Christ.

mary walmsley
mary walmsley
14 years ago

"Africa has no fallen soldiers on either side. It has only corpses."

So true, even up to this day.

Ambricourt
Ambricourt
14 years ago

The film offers wonderful image-making but facts are confused and names of some tribes wrong; "Africa" is limited to British-controlled territories, except for brief excursions to Angola and Congo. As in MONDO CANE and WORLD OF WOMEN, Jacopetti shows his fascination with the grotesque: in this film, the grotesque is mainly killing.