Discoveries from Portugal World Cinema

The rapid turning of a light draws a circle. In the space bound by its line unravels an archive of postcards sent between the island of Madeira and the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique. The figures carved into the Knife by the Sap of the Banana Trees circulates between a fictional colonial memory, and science-fiction.

Short film by André Marques.

A satire of the film world, a film crew tries at all costs to make an advertisement for an emerging beverage brand, "Dlize". Between a lack of talent and professionalism, a director who doesn't know what he's doing, a star actor who has succumbed to alcohol and a bad lifestyle, and an entire crew on the verge of despair, Hélder, the assistant director, and his production assistants Maurício and Emanuel, try to keep the ship on course and manage to film the advertisement.

It is a personal reflection of the mind of an unstable person, living in their own world, creating their own comedy. Although labeled as such, it comes closer to a tragedy the more you look into its fine details. Half an hour can feel like five minutes or an eternity, depending on who is watching.

Henrique Silva was not born an artist — he became one. He is a visual artist whose work spans painting, sculpture, and drawing, with expressions also in literature, video art, and music. A master of multidisciplinary crafts, he is likewise a thinker — a man of reflection and provocation. The film is structured around what Henrique himself calls a Polysemic Perspective, grounded in three pillars: Cosmology, Technique, and Morality. Revisiting his past and family background, we find Henrique in the present, at 90 years old, in conversation with the filmmakers in his home, which also serves as his studio, in Gondar.

While returning home for christmas, Mariana, finds herself suffocated by the big plans and expectations of her family.

A collective film by and with residents of Monte de Caparica, whose “development resulted from a process overseen by a permanent team of three tutors (Ana Eliseu, Luís M. Correia, and Susana Nobre), with sessions led by guest directors (Basil da Cunha, Falcão Nhaga) as well as other professionals connected to film work (Paulo Menezes, Leonardo Simões, Nuno Carvalho, Nádia Henriques, André Silva Santos).

Feature film by Pedro Neves.

Exploring dreams within their local community the students set out to awaken and root environmental responsibility diving into aquatic practices through an ocean literacy program.

"Little thriller short story directed by me with the help of my students from Escola Profissional Agostinho Roseta, classes LXtm17 and LXtm19. All of a sudden, everybody dies, in only one minute."

A young man reflects on his relationship with the place he grew up in, and the filmmakers that shaped him.

A woman finally walks away from a love that is no longer there. With the wound still open, on a deserted beach, she finds some comfort in the words of a stranger with similar scars.

The construction of the Salazar Bridge in Lisbon.

Recorded and filmed in my room, in that order.

On the first day of school, I asked him where he came from. He said he came from the USA, but he was from Orgal, a tiny village in the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. He was a funny kid. Over the years I lost track of him. Nine years later I met him in Lisbon. He was making a film, "O Fantasma". A great actor! Nominated for awards in Portugal and abroad. He couldn't handle the exposure. He totally decompensated. He died alone.

'Secrets of Nature' was a series of short films produced by the BBC in the 1920s and 1930s about animals, plants and our relationship to them. In 2021, and in tandem with the 'Cinema e Razão Ecológica' conference, Teresa Castro gives it a new reading in four episodes in which she explores the world of lichens, mushrooms and ruderal plants. An unprecedented mini-video series, produced by Culturgest.

A play by the Cidadela Theater Club.

Late at night at a lonely food truck, two men engage in a seemingly innocent conversation about the mysteries of creation. As the night deepens, their casual debate takes a dark turn, revealing that nature holds answers beyond the reach of their understanding.

An ethnofiction that accompanies a young woman who finds herself overwhelmed by the city setting out on a journey seeking refuge in the countryside.

Through the lens of a discerning auteur, this home video compilation artfully weaves together the tapestry of senior year, embracing the tapestry of life's moments - from festive holidays filled with laughter and familial warmth, to intimate gatherings with cherished friends. Capturing the essence of human connection, it delves into deep and poignant conversations, juxtaposed with the beauty found in the mundane. Each frame serves as a testament to the richness of experience, reminding us that even the simplest of moments hold profound significance in the grand narrative of existence.

Mars, a teenage girl, travels between her conscious and her unconscious, reflecting about her place and her environment and the role she plays in her own life.

It's night time. Jazz music playing, a man enjoys his cigar, a drink and, later on, a midnight snack. Just another peaceful night during the pandemic's lockdown... until...

Dreadfully sweating and glued to his gun, a man wanders around an abandoned factory chasing a mysterious presence.

A documentary about the life and "work" of the father of the Portuguese far-left.

Active at 93, Isabel Meyrelles, the first Portuguese woman surrealist artist - sculptor and poet - talks about herself and her work.

After the extinction of mankind, a machine relives the life of its creator and all his ancestors. In a matter of seconds, it has primitive dreams of an exuberant pilgrimage of which hardly any ruins remain

A lighthouse keeper, his work, and the purpose (or lack thereof) of a profession devoted to solitude.

In a tightly framed slice of suburban Lisbon, young characters grapple with juvenile bravado and the unspoken tensions of masculinity, framed through Salaviza’s spare, observational lens.