‘Africa Addio’ / ‘Farewell Africa’ is a documentary film about the decolonization of Africa, made by the Italian film directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi.
It is a masterpiece with beautiful music, composed by the Italian composer Riz Ortolani. ‘Africa Addio’ is one of the best and most exposing documentary ever made about what happened in several African countries directly after decolonization, but because of political correctness the masses never heard of it.
In the USA a censored version called ‘Africa Blood and Guts’ was released, which was deliberately stripped from the original music and the powerful message of ‘Africa Addio’ – so the sensors were able to portray the destruction, cruelty, savagery and genocide performed by the Africans as a ‘struggle for indepence’.
The film is edited with a style that numerous reviewers have deemed to be a “pro-white European” and “pro-Colonialist” slant as seen during the first wave of what became endemic African revolutions. Some object that the film makes virtually no references to past atrocities and exploitations committed by European colonialists and instead focuses mainly on the atrocities and crimes committed by black Africans.
However, as the film documents the transition to independence in the 1960′s of a number of African countries and not the history of these countries it is unclear what the relevancy of this objection is. Furthermore, although the majority of the violence documented is between blacks, black on white and white on black violence is equally documented. For instance in the scene where white mercenaries liberate a missionary.
In the promotion of the unauthorised American version of the film, opening subtitles and subsequent narration clearly inform the viewer that the sole purpose of this film is to serve as a monument to colonial-era Africa:
“Europe has abandoned her baby,” the narrator mourns, “just when it needs her the most.” Who has taken over, now that the colonialists have left? The advertising announces: “Raw, wild, brutal, modern-day savages!”
shot in 1964; released in 1966
