“Mo’ Better Blues” brings Jazz and cinema together at Great Cinema on Campus

On 2 October, Lusófona University - Porto University Centre's Campus 3 hosted another outdoor film screening as part of the Great Cinema on Campus series. Through this initiative, the institution reinforces its role as a cultural meeting point, bringing the Porto academic community closer to the world of cinema.

Since the launch of the series, the university has hosted screenings of “Persepolis”, “24 Hour Party People” and “The Hours”. The latest screening featured the classic “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990), directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington as Bleek Gilliam, a talented jazz trumpeter. The film follows the musician's obsessive dedication to his art and the conflicts that arise between ambition, love and friendship. It stands as a celebrated tribute to jazz and African-American culture, enhanced by a memorable soundtrack composed by Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard.

The screening was introduced by Dori Nigro, an Afro-Brazilian artist, performer, arts educator and researcher. In an interview, Nigro emphasised the importance of initiatives of this kind, highlighting how they “help to democratise cinema” and bring landmark works from the history of the seventh art into the academic setting, creating opportunities to discuss essential themes relating to our own reality and that of other cultures.

Asked about the themes of artistic creation and music explored in Spike Lee's work, the artist highlighted the impact of the filmmaker's cultural hybridity on his own practice. Dori Nigro explained that his work brings together different forms of expression, from performance and sound to drawing and fashion. He identifies with the way many contemporary artists incorporate multiple influences into their artistic practices.

This final screening marks the end of the first edition of Great Cinema on Campus, which brought new life to Porto's cultural scene, with creative rebellion serving as the guiding thread for a programme designed to weave together the seventh art, cultural production and urban space.

View the event photos on Lusófona University's Facebook page

Text
Helena Gonçalves

Photography and Video
Gabriel Motta

Video Editing
Rosalina Baptista

Photo Editing
Gabriel Motta