01:00 AM EDT on Friday, July 7, 2006

PROVIDENCE -- Filmmaker Claire Andrade-Watkins is becoming something of a one-woman booster for Cape Verdean history.

Her acclaimed documentary Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?: A Cape Verdean American Story, about the Fox Point neighborhood that was largely displaced by the arrival of urban renewal and Route 195 in the 1960s, had solid runs at Boston's Museum of Art and the Columbus Theatre recently.

She's bringing that film back, along with three others dealing with Cape Verde, to the Columbus this weekend as part of the Cape Verdean Heritage Film Festival. It's a project of her SPIA Media Productions, which makes and distributes films about Cape Verdeans.

"I've been working toward this for 20 years," she said over the phone from her home in Brookline, Mass., where she teaches film at nearby Emerson College.

Also on the bill is Testamento, which hasn't been seen in Providence since its premiere here in 1998. Based on the novel by Cape Verdean author Germano Almeida, Testamento is a lighthearted romantic comedy about the problems and entanglements of a character living in Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente.

Two of Andrade-Watkins' own films will also be screened as a double feature in the festival.

Cape Verde Independence, July 5 and 6, 1975 chronicles the ceremonies and celebrations that marked the end of 500 years of Portuguese colonial rule. The Spirit of Cape Verde is a 1986 documentary that celebrates the bonds between New England and Cape Verde.

Testamento will be shown at 7 and 9:30 tonight and 3, 7 and 9:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Cape Verde Independence and The Spirit of Cape Verde will go on screen at 2 and 6 p.m. tomorrow and at noon and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican? will show at 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $7 for all shows.

BY MICHAEL JANUSONIS