Sambizanga is a 1972 film directed by Sarah Maldoror and written by Maldoror, Mário Pinto de Andrade, and Maurice Pons, based on the 1961 novella The Real Life of Domingos Xavier by José Luandino Vieira. Set in 1961 during the onset of the Angolan War of Independence, it follows the struggles of Angolan militants involved with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), an anti-colonial political movement. Maldoror co-wrote the screenplay with her husband, who was a leader within the MPLA. Sambizanga was the first feature film produced by a Lusophone African country.

Plot

The film is set in the titular Sambizanga, a working-class neighbourhood in Luanda where a Portuguese prison was located in which many Angolan militants were tortured and killed. On 4 February 1961, the prison was attacked by MPLA forces.