Mário Bastos

• Name — Mário Bastos • Other Names — Fradique • Born — 1986 • Birth Name — Mário Bastos • Years Active — 2008–present • Occupation — Director, screenwriter, producer, assistant director, editor

Mario was born in 1986 in Luanda, Angola. As a child, he developed an interest in visual storytelling after receiving his first camera, which led him to explore photography. Bastos experiences with photography helped shape his interest in storytelling and filmmaking. His creative development was supported by Angolan photographer and filmmaker Victorio Henriques, who mentored Bastos and encouraged his creative endeavors. Mario Bastos has continued to maintain strong ties to Luanda, where he contributes to the development of film project centered on Angolan culture and stories.

In 2008, Fradique attended the New York Film Academy and obtained his bachelor's degree in fine arts (directing) at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In 2009, he made his first short film, Alambamento. The film won the award for the Best Short Film at the Luanda International Film Festival and was an Official Selection in the Vancouver International Film Festival and Tenerife International Film Festival. In 2010, Fradique formed the production company Geração 80 with Jorge Cohen and Tchiloia Lara. In 2011, he attended the Berlinale Talent Campus for further studies. Fradique works with Jorge Cohen, Tchiloia Lara, and Sérgio Afonso together to change the Angola film scene by developing new productions based on fiction and documentary style. From 2010 to 2015, he worked on his first full-length documentary, Independência. The film focuses on Angola's liberation struggle and later won Angola's Culture National Prize for Cinema. The film also won the award for the Best Documentary at the Cameron International Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the Durban International Film Festival, Luxor African Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival. He also directed art-house music videos for Angolan artists such as Nástio Mosquito and Aline Frazão. In 2020, he made his first fiction film, Ar Condicionado, which had its premier at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. It was the official selection for Uganda at the Fribourg International Film Festival in 2020.

• Year — Film — Role — Genre — Ref. • 2007 — Kiari — Director, writer — Short film • 2008 — Violent Jake — Assistant director, associate producer — Documentary • 2011 — Alambamento — Director, writer — Short film • 2011 — Luanda 24/7 — Director — Short film • 2013 — Triângulo — Director, writer — Documentary • 2014 — Afripedia Angola — Writer, editor — TV documentary • 2015 — Independência — Director, writer, editor — Documentary • 2016 — Bloody Kind of Love — Director — Video short • 2017 — The Kingdom of Casuarinas — Director — Film • 2017 — El Último País — Assistant editor — Documentary • 2020 — Ar Condicionado — Director, writer — Film