The magical realist story is narrated by a carpenter who died on the eve of Mozambican independence while restoring a former Portuguese colonial fortress that now houses a retirement home. As a xipoco (ghost), he inhabits the body of a police inspector sent to investigate the murder of the home’s director.
An adaptation of Mia Couto’s 2020 novel “A Varanda do Frangipani,” the film is directed by Sol de Carvalho, one of Mozambique’s longest-active filmmakers, whose career extends across the immediate post-independence period, the civil war years, and contemporary international co-production cinema.
“O Ancoradouro do Tempo (The Anchorage of Time)” opened in Portugal in June 2025. It held its Mozambican premiere on December 3, 2025, at Cine-Teatro Scala in capital city Maputo.
No further distribution, festival selection, or touring plan announcements have since been published.
The film is a co-production between Mozambique, Portugal, Germany, Angola, and Mauritius.
Watch the trailer: