A group of Italians combs the villages of north Mozambique in search of five gifted people who dream about being actors. The reality met by the team of Italians is surprising: illiteracy and the scarce knowledge of Portuguese is as widespread as theatre is alive, and a reason for aggregation. There are many aspiring actors, and those who are selected will leave the national boundaries, go to Italy to learn acting techniques and write a text with the Italian director Jacopo Fo.
The team of Italians, supported by the experience of the Mozambican actor Felix Mambucho, selects Cuba’s comedy, Arlete’s presence, Kedo’s voice, Safina’s sensuality, Ana Bela’s smile and Agostinho’s spontaneity. At the Liberà Università di Alcatraz in the Umbrian hills, the actors begin the project mission together with Jacopo Fo and other theatre maestros: to write a performance that is to be presented in the villages of Mozambique with the aim of teaching the local populations how to use the free health service and getting them to trust it. The actors will learn a method that compels them to face themselves and their dreams. In parallel, the Italians will have to trust in a different approach to life in the hope of ending the project and creating the theatre tour. This is Wiwanana: a journey between Italy and Mozambique, a story about the theatre as an instrument of emancipation and dialogue between different cultures.