Brainwave #5 | Mar Azul: Reflections on Loss and Migratory Grief

What happens to grief when you migrate, or grow up between multiple homelands? During this evening, we explore migratory grief through film and discussion. We screen The Last Harvest (2025) by Nuno Boaventura Miranda, a poetic portrait of Cape Verdean communities in Lisbon that touches on belonging, displacement and intergenerational loss. After the screening, there will be a conversation with the director, anthropologist and recent UvA graduate Jennifer Silva, and filmmaker/artist Janilda Bartolomeu.

Although a universal experience, grief is a deeply intimate experience shaped by our identity and expressed through cultural norms. This evening seeks to intersect two experiences of grief: migratory grief and the loss of a loved one.

Migration is etched into the social fabric of the Cape Verdean people. With more people living outside of the archipelago than on the islands themselves. Therefore, the theme of migratory grief has been explored and is known deeply amongst the Cape Verdean people. In her thesis, Jennifer Silva explored grief and continuing bonds in the Cape Verdean diaspora in Brazil. She will discuss her findings.

The event features a screening of the film, The Last Harvest by Nuno Miranda Boaventura. The film paints an intergenerational portrait of the Cape Verdean community and diaspora in Lisbon, exploring topics such as sense of belonging and diasporic grief. The screening is followed by an aftertalk with the director of the film.

To close, we delve back into the Dutch context, where a large Cape Verdean community lives. Together with Janilda Bartolomeu a multidisciplinary Cape Verdean artist who explores the topic of grief and melancholy in her work.

Programme

19:00 - Presentation by Jennifer Silva
19:20 - Film screening The Last Harvest
19:40 - Discussion with Nuno Boaventura Miranda
20:10 - Exploring the Dutch context with Janilda Bartolomeu

Mar Azul's speaker and curator