Discoveries from Portugal World Cinema

A nun is called upon to adopt her 15-year-old nephew, and as a consequence religious, familial and sensual love become entangled.

A young adolescent, living with a swinger couple in a campsite, meets an emotionally unstable man and finds herself fascinated by his special powers.

At 35, Pedro is completely antisocial, ruthless, and close to being a psychopath. He works as a nurse in a hospital, making life miserable for his coworkers, dealing drugs, and running illegal poker games. One day, a mysterious patient he always argues with dies beside him and leaves him a magical book that turns him into a kind of angel with supernatural powers. At first, he uses his powers for his own benefit, but he starts to realize that helping others isn’t so bad after all.

At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan leads an expedition under the Spanish crown in search of the first westward route to the Spice Islands. He embarks on a perilous journey across the uncharted Pacific, where his fleet faces starvation, mutiny, and the psychological toll of endless seas. Upon reaching the shores of Cebu, Magellan is pulled into a fatal conflict with the natives by his drive to spread Catholicism, culminating in his tragic doom.

RITA portrays the journey of a young artistic roller skating athlete shortly after becoming world champion, focusing less on victory and more on the work, discipline and family structure that sustain high-performance sport.

A documentary on the Tarrafal prison camp on the island of Santiago.

Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair is on her final flight mission when her jet is shot down over one of the most dangerous rebel strongholds in Afghanistan. She finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made creatures known as Ravagers — half-human, half-alien, and hungry for human flesh — are awakened.

Non-Player Character - a film by João Brás

T. S. Eliot ends one of his most famous poems, "The Hollow Men", by repeating three times the sentence "This is how the world ends" - and then adding: "Not with a bang but a whimper."

A walk for half a century, yes, a letter perhaps. Travels in my life, I could call it, which I like Garrett so much. A traveling as he would like, a loose story, memories, projects, meetings. Also because, since 1995, I have done several portraits of artists (Palolo, Bravo, Lapa, Skapinakis, Bartolomeu, Angelo, Sena, Ana Vieira and I prepare Sofia Areal and Fernando Lemos), I started to think that this is my life, these meetings , see, hear, cut, show, tease. I want, with this film continue to show what I see. [Jorge Silva Melo]

An impossible love. Two young people who love each other. Vera and João can’t find in this life the space, time, or identity to resolve their love story.

Raimund Gregorius, having saved a beautiful Portuguese woman from leaping to her death, stumbles upon a mesmerizing book by a Portuguese author, which compels him to suddenly abandon the boring life he has led for years and to embark on an enthralling adventure. In search of the author, Gregorius acts as detective, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves political and emotional intrigue and the highest possible stakes. His voyage is one that transcends time and space, delving into the realms of history, medicine and love, all in search of true meaning to his life.

A fearless young artist, Maria Manuela refuses to conform. Filmed over the course of four years by her closest friend, we follow her journey of self-discovery, creativity, and the ups and downs of finding her place in the world.

An actress goes to Azores to take part in the theatrical tour of The Tempest and on her arrival she finds no one from the company, there is not even a theatre. After meeting Ariel, the actress discovers that the play has already started, the whole island is a theatre and its inhabitants are characters.

A director struggles with a difficult sex scene between a young actor and actress who can't stand one another. Aided by her loyal assistant, she is hell-bent on getting the scene right without compromise.

A journey through the real history and the tales of a region in southern Portugal and a portrait of the people who have lived there, weaving together accounts of rural workers and field notes of archaeologists, amateur footage and scientific drawings, legends, poems, and songs.

Machado, a Colombian living in France, is hired to return to his hometown of Medellín and steal an emerald. During the risky execution of his plan, he becomes entangled in a series of events that lead him to reconsider the ultimate goal of his mission.

Wim Wenders' homage to Lisbon and films. A sound engineer obtains a mysterious postcard from a friend who at the moment is filming a film in Lisbon. He sets out across Europe to find him and help him.

Sergio is a brooding, alienated man who works as a trash collector in Lisbon by day and roams the city streets by night seeking rough, anonymous sex with men. One night he meets a man who seems to be the embodiment of his tormented fantasies, and he becomes obsessed with the stranger until loneliness and unfulfilled desire propel him finally into a dark and dangerous animalistic state.

About the Portuguese author José Saramago, based on a long interview with the writer at his home on the island of Lanzarote, in which he analyzes his work and shares his reflection on some aspects of his personal life.

The tragic fate of Juana I of Castille, Queen of Spain, madly in love to an unfaithful husband, Felipe el Hermoso, Archduke of Austria.

A national coach working in Lisbon during World War II also acted as a spy for the Allies, leading a risky double life

"Come and see this world end!" - wrote the the priest António Fontes, father of folk medicine and "burning witches" in Vilar de Perdizes, a desperate plea in his precious monograph of the Barroso region. And I (João Botelho) went. Then I saw the people and the land. Haunting on discovery. Heart sank. "God is good but the devil is not so bad!" - We learned from this Community habits and that is great, tough and generous. And I also learned that no fairer place for a demand of life and even the elusive happiness there, I assure you, it is always possible.

In 1917 Burma (now Myanmar), a British diplomat is set to marry his fiancée, but after a sudden panic, escapes to Singapore, sending her on what evolves into a chase across Asia.

Paraguay, 1958. The charismatic Narciso returns from Buenos Aires with rock ’n’ roll in his veins. Under the suffocating military regime, his radio show becomes a music sensation and a symbol of freedom.

A boy and a girl fall in love. But on the night they met, she was drunk and stoned and he took advantage of her. Although she does not remember almost anything from that night, she remembers something that may compromise their relationship.

B.P.R.D. sends Hellboy on a mission to save a woman kidnapped by Beleth and his legions of demons.

While searching for a solution to his serious health condition, David, a renowned neurosurgeon, discovers a sinister secret hidden in the past.

A film about General Humberto Delgado's brutal assassination by the Portuguese fascist police in 1965.

Free Fish is a short documentary filmed over the course of a year in Gaza, following two brothers — Abu Nagham and Ahmad — separated by war yet connected by the sea. Displaced from their home, Abu Nagham now lives in a tent in the south, fishing with his young nephew Rami, who lost his twin brother. Ahmad remains in the north, fishing amid ruins and occupation. Once a source of livelihood and freedom, the sea has become a battleground — heavily restricted, constantly watched, and always dangerous.

In a distant past, Léon and Elvira Berthelini, itinerant artists, make their living hopping from town to town. In Covarronca, harassed by the Police Commissioner, they are forced to spend the night out in the open. That’s when they meet Stubbs, a young Cambridge student, with whom they find shelter in the home of a painter at odds with his wife. In return for the hospitality, they remind their hosts that the love of art resolves the art of love. Meanwhile, an unusual curse sends them on absurd journeys into the 21st century, where the future of social security and of a rock band are at stake.

Passionate romance, brutal treachery, and selfless nobility are set against the background of Napoleon’s 1810 invasion of Portugal.

Aurora, a Portuguese migrant, works as an order picker in a warehouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. Caught between the walls of a huge distribution centre and the solitude of her own room, Aurora tries to seize every opportunity to resist the alienation and isolation that threaten her identity.

When Edward’s search for his biological family leads him and his girlfriend Ryley to a magnificent villa high in the mountains of Northern Portugal, he is full of excitement at meeting his long-lost mother and twin brother. Finally, he will discover who he is and where he comes from. But nothing is as it seems, and Edward will soon learn that he is linked to them by a monstrous secret.

Spain, the 1970s. Although Francoist ideology remains deeply entrenched in society, a group of young trailblazers and an ambitious promoter are about to change the history of women’s football.

In 2017, in Portugal, devastating wildfires destroyed forests and killed children and adults; some died in their villages, others were trapped on a road. Communication failed, and the villages had no shelters. The film’s action does not take place in 2017, but at a later time. It follows a small group of people who lost their dearest ones and are now in the process of learning how to live after everything they have lost.

Liam Liu unwittingly gets involved with a high school girl. He suddenly has to go to China after learning from his father that he has inherited his grandmother's home in Shanghai. He's not very appreciative of his Chinese roots, and at first, only wants to sell the house and get back to the U.S. as fast as possible. He gets a taste of the Chinese culture and ends up having some big decisions to make.

In this rom-com challenging the concept of soulmates, parallel storylines portray four single friends as they pair up in different couple combinations.

In June 2001, hundreds of kilos of cocaine washed up in a Portuguese village. This gripping documentary reveals the long-lasting impact on the community.

The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.

A family with a long history (and many members) gathers around a table in a mansion in southern Portugal. The region has transformed from a depressed area into a thriving tourist destination. Kisses, hugs, and greetings quickly turn into complaints and reproaches surrounding the big issue: What should be done with Daddy’s house? It is a tempting piece of cake, laden with rich family memories. But progress cannot be stopped.

A meditation on civilization. July, 2001: friends wave as a cruise ship departs Lisbon for Mediterranean ports and the Indian Ocean. On board and on day trips in Marseilles, Pompeii, Athens, Istanbul, and Cairo, a professor tells her young daughter about myth, history, religion, and wars. Men approach her; she's cool, on her way to her husband in Bombay. After Cairo, for two evenings divided by a stop in Aden, the captain charms three successful, famous (and childless) women, who talk with wit and intellect, each understanding the others' native tongue, a European union. The captain asks mother and child to join them. He gives the girl a gift. Helena sings. Life can be sweet.

A group of bad cops look to dispose of a body that one of them accidentally shot.

Filmmaker Catarina Vasconcelos sifts through the memories of her ancestors. Her naval officer grandfather, Henrique, who married her grandmother, Beatriz, on her 21st birthday, spent extended periods at sea, leaving her with six children. This is the beginning of a generational saga.

Guilherme and Sofia, brother and sister, grow up sharing experiences and slowly discovering their sexuality. The thing that Sofia doesn't know is how far Guilherme will go to keep her inside his own perverse, dark and perfect circle.

The story of an ambulant sharpener who crosses spaces in a (almost) lifeless country.

Lisbon, Portugal, 2010. Pilar, a pious woman devoted to social causes, maintains a peculiar relationship with her neighbor Aurora, a temperamental old woman obsessed with gambling who lives tormented by a mysterious past.

On location in Portugal, a film crew runs out of film while making their own version of Roger Corman's The Day the World Ended (1956). The producer is nowhere to be found and director Munro attempts to find him in hopes of being able to finish the film.

Between 2011 and 2014, the documentary investigated the changes in Rio de Janeiro on behalf of mega-events: UPPs in slums, forced evictions, public spaces privatization and popular uprisings.

A group of teenagers go to an old house on vacation with a big black pond, what they don't know is that a long time ago, a witch was drowned and killed there and now she's back for revenge, on those who live in her house.

In the north of medieval Portugal, the beautiful Ana falls in love with Thomas, a poor artisan. Her father immediately forbids their union, demanding that his daughter’s suitors produce a jewel as proof of their nobility. But the young couple refuse to give up. With the help of their faithful companions, the generosity of the townswomen and the talent of a mysterious jewellery maker, Ana and Thomas will face many challenges out of love, including the powerful and evil Duke of Aragon.

The misfortunes of Sofia, the exemplary Madalena and Camila, the troubled vacations of girls and boys, a few years later leading to the resolution of some mysteries, form the perfect trilogy by the Countess of Ségur on education, social, religious, and political power. Desire and its oppression, violence and punishment, in short, the terrible loss combined with inevitable growth. Both adults and children will understand that precepts, rules, and prayers can tear nerves and blood apart.