In the year that marks the 50^th anniversary of São Tomé and Príncipe's independence, this event proposes a reflection on the history and memory of indentured labour in the archipelago's plantations (roças). Organised by the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES), through the project GHOST - The afterlives of contract and enslavement: Narratives on indentured labour between Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe (MSCA - 101105812), the ROÇAMUNDO Association and the Portuguese Cultural Centre in São Tomé and Príncipe, the event aims to promote a space for debate on this topic through a workshop and a film series.

Natália Umbelina (Centre for African Studies at the University of Porto) and Nazaré Ceita (University of São Tomé and Príncipe) will give a historical reading of indentured labour in the roças, while Miguel Cardina (CES) will analyse the dynamics between history and memory. Inês Nascimento Rodrigues (CES) will explore phantasmagoria as a political tool of memory. The workshop will also open up space to discuss the aesthetics of phantasmagoria and other forms of artistic and cultural representation of the plantations, with interventions by Conceição Lima (Literature), Olavo Amado (Visual Arts) and Margarida Cardoso (Cinema).

Complementing the workshop, the film series broadens the debate with the screening of five films: Banzo (2024), by Margarida Cardoso, O Canto do Ossóbó (2017), by Silas Tiny, Serviçais, das memórias às identidades (2017), by Nilton Medeiros, Contrato (2010), by Guenny Pires and S. Tomé: Os últimos contratados (2009), by Leão Lopes. This event represents a unique opportunity to cross academic and artistic perspectives to deepen our understanding of the complex memories of labour in the fields, exploring phantasmagoria as a powerful lens of analysis. Free entrance.