Sixteen-year-old Alcides Soares is one of a half a million AIDS orphans living in Mozambique today. American television writer Neal Baer and movie director Chris Zalla gave Alcides a movie camera and taught him how to shoot.
Historical data reconstructed from archive.org snapshots of the Manhattan Short Film Festival website.
Mozambique was selected as a finalist at the Manhattan Short Film Festival in 2009. The Manhattan Short Film Festival is an annual event that screens finalist films simultaneously across hundreds of venues worldwide, with audiences voting for the winner. Representing Mozambique, this film joined a diverse international lineup that year. View all 2009 finalists →
Short-film discoverability remains limited compared to feature-length releases. For Mozambique, check platforms that specialize in short-form cinema: Vimeo Staff Picks, MUBI Shorts, the Criterion Channel short film collection, and YouTube channels like Omeleto. Direct streaming URLs for individual short films change frequently, and no permanent viewing link is guaranteed.
Written by M. Ortega
Archive Editor · March 14, 2026
