blogstream by this author

• Mexico City exhibition details
• Maputo exhibition photo coverage
• Photo essay on AOL Australia's FotoZone
• Denver exhibition TV coverage
• Upcoming exhibitions
• Storytelling as social change
• Russell talks about project in TV interview
• No jet lag with these photos
• The great Maputo bagel hunt
• Audio recording studio setups
• Kudos to Zegó
• Hello Tuesday, August 14
• Hello Thursday, August 9
• Hello Tuesday, August 7
• Hello Monday, August 6
• Touchdown Maputo
• Johannesburg layover
• London layover
• imagemagick, PS batch actions, cron
• Blogging from a mobile phone
• iTunes

blogstream by this project

• Mozambique film screening at the Egyptian Theatre for 7th Artivist Film Festival
• United Nations hosts New York City exhibition
• Mexico City exhibition details
• Maputo exhibition photo coverage
• Photo exhibition in Mozambique shows impact of AIDS through the eyes of children
• Photo essay on AOL Australia's FotoZone
• Denver exhibition TV coverage
• Upcoming exhibitions
• Storytelling as social change
• Russell talks about project in TV interview
• No jet lag with these photos
• Reflections
• Two weeks in Mozambique
• The great Maputo bagel hunt
• Impressions
• Workshop impressions
• The secret behind the camera
• Workshop report
• Hello Wednesday, August 15
• Audio recording studio setups
• Kudos to Zegó
• Hello Venice???????????????
• Hello Tuesday, August 14
• Hello Friday, August 10
• Flourishing against the odds
• Hello Thursday, August 9
• Hello Wednesday, August 8
• Shooting back
• Hello Tuesday, August 7
• Hello Monday, August 6
• Touchdown Maputo
• To foster a young filmmaker
• From Madagascar to Mozambique
• Johannesburg layover
• London layover
• Farida's introduction
• Nilza's introduction
• Marta's introduction
• Namani's introduction
• Nelson's introduction
• Aires' introduction
• Heading to Mozambique: House is Small
• imagemagick, PS batch actions, cron
• Ready to teach
• Beginning at the beginning
• Blogging from a mobile phone
• The great chasm
• iTunes

Kudos to Zegó

Eugene Ahn

Posted 2:24PM on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Pacific Time

Congratulations to Zegó, who was recognized tonight as one of the Mozambique's emerging artists. This morning, before meeting up with Alcides and Chris for a day of filming the BYkids documentary, Zegó got a telephone call and was advised to be ready to accept his award at a private dinner ceremony at the Restaurante 1908 in downtown Maputo. During the day's filming, he bumped into a colleague and traded pants with him on the street so that he would be more presentable for the formal evening affair.

Honored for his 2005 documentary exploring the generation gap among Mozambique's established and emerging generations of artists, Zegó was given a cash prize, and more significantly, recognition for work that looks closely at the country's social and political issues.

"Something like this does not happen every day," Zegó kept saying after the ceremony, with his characteristic cool enthusiasm. I ran into him at the restaurant by chance. My group, from the photography side of the project, ended up there in search of a dinner experience. He had been summoned to be honored. Zegó hadn't had the time to organize a family member to accompany him, so he brought someone else he's spent a lot of time with this past week -- project film mentor Christopher Zalla.

I see Zegó as part of a generation of Mozambician artists and activists who see art and activism as equally important parts of citizenship and community-building. Next month, he performs in a one-man show about the country's political situation. The play was written by the friend he met on the street, who loaned him pants for tonight's ceremony. In November, Zegó travels to Brazil to screen and lecture on the film that earned him his honor. Next year, he travels to Russia to work on a film about a road trip from St. Petersburg to Siberia.

take action

If the stories on this website move you, take action now and see how easy it is to make a difference.

get podcast

Subscribe to our free iTunes podcast to get the latest audio and video updates as the project unfolds

get email alerts

Subscribe to our free newsletter to get email updates as the project unfolds