Martha Canga Antonio

Martha Canga Antonio was born on June 12 1995 in Mons, Belgium, to parents who had immigrated from Angola. She grew up in Liège.^[1][2]

In 2014, she studied communication management at Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Brussels.^[3]

While still studying, Antonio was selected to play the character Mavela in the gang thriller film Black directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.^[3] Before the film, she had no acting experience but was selected out of 450 candidates. The film and her role in it became highly popular and critically acclaimed.^[4]

The film was later screened different international film festivals. In November 2015, Antonio was adjudged the Best Actress at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.^[5][6] In December of the same year, she was nominated as a European Shooting Star at the 7th Magritte Awards for the same film.^[1]

Apart from acting, Antonio is also a prolific singer who started her career as a member of the musical group Soul'Art.^[7] In 2018, she started her career as a solo singer under the name "Martha Da'ro", and released the single Summer Blues.^[8]

• Shooting Stars Award