Some films tell a story and others create a space in which the viewer is invited to observe, feel and draw their own conclusions. “O Profeta”, the first feature film by the Mozambican director Ique Langa, belongs to the second group.
Shot in black and white in Manjacaze, in Gaza province, the film follows Hélder, played by Admiro de Laura Munguambe, an evangelical pastor whose small congregation is going through difficulties. Feeling that his sermons no longer move the faithful, he begins to question his own faith and secretly seeks help in traditional spiritual practices.
The change seems to work. Healing powers emerge, new followers arrive and the recognition he so desired grows. But what at first seems a solution begins to demand an ever higher price.
Ique Langa could have turned this premise into a simple confrontation between Christianity and traditional spirituality. He chooses a more interesting path. The real conflict takes place inside Hélder, torn between faith, ambition, the desire to serve and the need for recognition.
The film thus ends up speaking less about religion than about power and about what we are prepared to do in order to be heard.
Admiro de Laura Munguambe carries much of the film with a restrained and convincing performance, which earned him the Best Actor Award at the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival, Spain. Alongside him are Nora Matavel, Alexandre Masnado Coana, Venâncio Jaime Langa, Armando José Macave and Yara Bonga, among others.
Part of the cast is made up of local residents with no professional acting experience, reinforcing the film’s connection to the community where it was shot.
Before it was completed, the film was selected for the Final Cut in Venice, part of the Venice Biennale. In January 2026, it had its world premiere in the Tiger Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, becoming the first Mozambican feature film to take part in that competition.
There followed New Directors/New Films, organised by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Film at Lincoln Center, in New York, the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival and Olhar de Cinema, in Brazil. In September, it travels to the Afrika Film Festival Köln, in Germany.
After this international journey, the film finally arrives in Mozambique.
The national premiere took place on 30 August 2026, in Maputo, as part of KUGOMA, the Mozambique Film Forum. At the time of this edition, it is showing at Nu Metro Maputo. The International Film Festival Rotterdam also presents the film on its streaming platform, subject to access conditions and territorial availability.
