Today you enter the Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique, once one of the most luxurious hotels in Africa, at your own risk. A symbol of the troubled history of Mozambique, an eyewitness to colonialism, lavish parties, honeymoons, a revolution and a civil war, this 12,000-square-meter monster of colonial excess was built in 1955. More than 2,500 people have taken control of the shell of the building and live there today without water or electricity. In this careful portrait of a grim and complex subject, we are introduced to the reality of today through Moises and Lapisdon, two good friends with an equally turbulent life inside this city within a city. We are told how the hotel became populated during the civil war and the major floods in Mozambique, unveiling the revolutionary history of the country and the traces it left behind in the hotel. This film is a story of colonial megalomania, revolutionary vanity and feeling at home. Directed by Lotte Stoops.

Grande Hotel

2010 BE 67 min
Festival Year: 2012
Types: Documentary
Topic: Global Perspectives, Sustainable Living