The history of the cinema of Cape Verde dates back to the arrival of filmmakers in the early twentieth century. The first picture house was established in Mindelo around 1922, called Eden Park.[1]
The nation has two film festivals, the Cabo Verde International Film Festival (CVIFF), which takes place each year on the island of Sal with its first edition held in 2010. The Praia International Film Festival Cinema do Plateau on the island of Santiago with its first edition took place in 2014. The award-winning filmmaker, cinematographer, film editor, and digital media arts instructor, Guenny K. Pires, founded the PIFF. He is the first native-born Cape Verdean to write, direct, and produce documentary and narrative films about Cape Verde. Mr. Pires, a visionary filmmaker, has a mission to bring the history and culture of his native country to the world's attention. In 2005, he moved to Los Angeles, where he founded Txan Film Productions & Visual Arts, a four-member production company that produces documentaries, docudramas, fiction films, and educational materials.
Claire Andrade-Watkins, "Le cinéma et la culture au Cap Vert et en Guinée-Bissau", Cinémas africains, une oasis dans le désert ? (African Cinema, an Oasis by the Desert), Condé-sur-Noireau, Corlet/Télérama, 2003, p. 148-151, Collection CinémAction, no. 106 ISBN2854809807