Maria João Ganga

• Name — Maria João Ganga • Born — 1964 • Birthplace — Huambo, Angola • Education — Ecole Superieure Libre d'Etudes Cinématographiques, (ESEC) Paris • Occupation — * Director • screenwriter • Notable Works — Hollow City, Rostov-Luanda

Ganga attended the Ecole Superieure Libre d'Etudes Cinématographiques, (ESEC) film school in Paris. Ganga wrote the screenplay for Hollow City, based on a novel by Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (Pepetela). The film is set in 1991 during the Angolan civil war. This is a story about lives disrupted by the war. The story centers around an eleven year old boy, N'dala (Roldan Pinto João), who witnesses the massacre of his family by soldiers in his native village of Bie. N'dala and other orphaned children are rescued and taken to Luanda, Angola's capital by a missionary nun. N'dala runs away and wanders into the center of the enormous city where he faces many challenges. Ganga worked as assistant director on the documentary Rostov-Luanda by Abderrahmane Sissako. She has also written and directed for theatre.

• Year — Film — Role — Notes • 2004 — Hollow City (Na Cidade Vazia) — Director — Angolan Civil War drama • 1997 — Rostov-Luanda — Assistant director — Documentary set in Angola