Mickey Fonseca, is a Mozambican filmmaker, writer and producer.[1] He is best known for directing the 2009 short film Mahla and 2019 crime thriller film Resgate. He is the founder of film production company Mahla Filmes.[2][failed verification]

Mickey Fonseca
Born
Mickey Fonseca

Maputo, Mozambique
Occupation(s)Filmakeer, writer, producer
Years active2005–present

Personal life

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Fonseca was born and raised in Maputo, Mozambique.[2] At the age of 12, his passion towards cinema grew up where he wrote letters to renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg as well.[1]

Career

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In his mid-twenties, Fonseca moved to Cape Town, South Africa and worked as a runner for Monkey Films. In 2006, he founded the film production company "Mahla Filmes" which is established in Maputo. Then for six years, the company shot commercials only.[3]

In 2011, Fonseca attended 8-Week Screenwriting program at the New York Film Academy.[3] Through the program, he was able to meet many Hollywood filmmakers and technical crew where Fonseca worked with them as the location manager and assistant manager in Africa for the blockbuster movies Diana and Blood Diamond.[4][5] In 2009, he made his film debut by directing the short Traidos pela traição. Then he directed the short Mahla in the same year.[6] The film became a turning point in his career, where the film received positive critics acclaim and nominated for best short at many film competitions: AMAA (Nigeria), TARIFA (Spain), Aguilar del Campoo (Spain), Festival Du Film D'Afrique et des Iles (Reunion Island) and XXX Festival Cinema Africano. (Verona, Italy).[7]

After that success, he later produced two more short films under the banner of Mahla Filmes: The Letter and The Dowry and directed his third short Poisoned Love, all in the 2010. In 2018, he wrote, produced and directed his maiden feature film Resgate.[8] At the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the film won the Best Screenplay Award and Best Production Design as well as nominated for two other awards: Best Film and Best Director. Then at the Film Fest Zell, he won the Courageous Film Award for directing the film. In the same year, he was again nominated for the Young Talent Award for Best Feature Film at the Hamburg Film Festival.[9] In 2020, the film became the first film from Lusophone: Portuguese-speaking Africa screened on Netflix.[3]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Genre Ref.
2006 Blood Diamond Third assistant director Film
2009 Traidos pela traição Director, producer Short film
2009 Mahla Director, producer, Writer Short film
2009 The Philanthropist Assistant production manager TV series
2010 The Letter Producer Short film
2010 The Dowry Producer Short film
2010 Poisoned Love Director, producer, Writer Short film
2010 Dina Director, producer, Writer Short film
2012 Sean Banan inuti Seanfrika Producer Film
2013 Diana Location manager Film
2019 Resgate Director, producer, Writer, Art director Film
2019 Mbuzini Memorial Producer Documentary short
2020 Dear... Production supervisor, Art director TV series documentary

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mickey Fonseca bio". Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Mickey Fonseca - Redemption". Film Fest Zell (in German). 15 September 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "New York Film Academy Alum Mickey Fonseca's Sells Award-Winning Film 'Resgate' to Netflix". New York Film Academy Blog. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Mickey Fonseca". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Mickey Fonseca". Alumni - New York Film Academy. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. ^ Milano-Firenze, Mo-Net s r l. "Mahla (2009)". mymovies.it. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. ^ "MAHLA". Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ^ FilmCourage.com (19 August 2016). "Mozambican Filmmakers Ask For World Support To Make First Feature Film — RESGATE". Film Courage. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Mickey Fonseca accolades". IMDb. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
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