The film “There is no Light Inside the Mirror” tells the story of Emanuel Tchisseke, a man who escapes from conflict areas in eastern Angola, and seeks shelter in Luanda. Emanuel, a man from the interior of the country, suffering from various war-related traumas is deeply confronted by the hostile urban environment of Luanda.
Emanuel's shadow made him his main enemy. The shadow now represents its past marked by the atrocities of war, and the indifference with which it is treated in the city. The growing conflict with his own shadow brings him to an extreme loneliness. Seeking to get rid of his own shadow, Samuel turns to life in the darkness.
The conflict with shadow intensifies each day and Emanuel is unable to bring light to his life, unable to trust any affective bond. At the height of his despair, Emanuel tries to assassinate his shadow, never realizing that what he would eventually commit would be suicide.