Discoveries from Portugal World Cinema

In this Halloween special, Guilherme Gomes brings us three absolutely terrifying stories!

From a primordial tree, in a primordial earth the primordial Being is born. Involved by a hostile world, this virtuous being in all its animal fullness is metamorphosing into an intelligent force destined to subject brute force.

A sequence of archive images filmed by Schefer's grandfather, a former colonial administrator, is the starting point for an experimental documentary on the history and memory of Portuguese decolonisation. Double or split memory: the lived and descriptive memory of the colonizers (their texts, their images) against the fabricated memory of their descendants.

Laura works as a newscaster and José Maria as a stockbroker, and while they live in the same housing complex, their lives never cross directly. Nevertheless, he watches her from a distance, seeing all her movements without her knowledge. But their lives finally meet when he is invited onto her news program. From there, a romance begins which coincides with the desire of two beings who finally find a reason to seek love once again.

Confronted with his mother's infidelity and his father's emotional absence, João arrives at a sunset where he refuses to return home.

Julian is an experimental biographical piece about two men – Julian and Antonio – who disconnected themselves from the anxious city, and allowed their spirits to be taken by nature. It is a slightly voyeuristic love letter about and to Julian – the Swiss man whom the narrator has briefly met in London and, shortly after, invited to a road-trip to Portugal.

A six-year-old girl once more silently witnesses a family break up. Her father comes back with an invitation for a day out.

Paulo Rocha catches up with his “beloved subject” in Porto, where he made Douro, Faina Fluvial in 1929, and where today Oliveira reminisces about the figure of his father, his first experience of cinema as an actor, his past as a racing driver, his first technical experiences…

Tomás is a young teenager who fights for the leadership of a small marginal group. One night, in the world that he cannot control, his fallout leads to the death of one of the group's members. Laura, the possible witness to the crime, becomes a threat.

Inspired by the urban legend of "Akai Ito", the story takes place in a world where people are connected by a red string to someone they are destined to meet, and where Dália suddenly sees her life uprooted by hers.

A woman arrives home, apparently coming from her job, and sets out about house chores and placing every object around her with extreme care. The only company she has is the radio, tuned to a station of popular music hits that the audience can ask for by telephone. There is a single hint that she may have breast cancer. Then, she sets the table for a large dinner - for one - including a champagne bottle. She commits suicide by pills overdose, before she utters a word.

The Soares are a bourgeois couple, living in a good neighbourhood of Lisbon, but João, their son, is not integrating well in that pattern. He attends more political meetings than classes at the Faculty of Economy, and gets a job but that's short lived because his female boss makes him her lover. He longs for the coffee shops, and the companions of old, but he doesn't get true love from anyone.

Sandra Duarte Cardoso, veterinary medicine and founder of SOS Animal in Portugal, was to know Najin, Fatu and its protectors. this is the story of a meeting the two latest white rhinocerosesfrom the north of the planet.

Poet, agricultural engineer and revolutionary Amílcar Cabral was born in Guinea-Bissau to Cape Verdean parents. After studying in Portugal, he emerged as the charismatic leader of the anti-colonial struggle against Portuguese rule. With his utopian ideas, he sparked a cultural and an armed uprising that went on to inspire other African liberation movements.

I am what persists. I shall turn myself into the serpent that no man knows, that no god can see.

In the mid-90s, while the shadow of the millennium bug and the consequent end of times can already be seen, a deeply religious family believes that the biblical prophecy that foresees the return of Jesus to Earth will be fulfilled in the womb of their youngest daughter.

Sprout. In the vacant lots against the hammering of buildings always under construction, between walls of granite, cement and sheet metal with rust, moss and cats; on the hillside between the train and the river, next to the traffic on the highway, facing the subway, vegetable gardens sprout. In this city, the choreography of ancient gestures of cultivating the land is repeated day after day, without fail. Sowing, digging, harvesting, watering, eating, talking, resting and returning the next day. The longest day of the year brings S. João and nobody goes to bed, but when the sun rises, the discreet gestures of resistance will restart.

'Olmo and the Seagull' is a poetic and existential dive into an actress's mind during the nine months of her pregnancy as she must confront her most fiery inner demons while trying to rewrite a new philosophy of life, identity and love. Underlying this hybrid film is mounting tension over what is real and what is enacted when one is performing one's own life.

In the summer of 1870, Raquel, who owns a farm, and lives secluded in her mansion with an old butler and a handful of servants, feels proud when an odd acquaintance comes by. Adriana and her daughter-in-law, Ermesinda, a very young girl, just happen to be visiting - the second time in 15 years for Adriana, and the first time for the teenager Ermesinda. The meeting seems to be pleasant, and yet, for reasons untold, there is coldness and reserve between Adriana and Raquel. Their ambiguous relationship will be revealed, when by accident old wounds are reopened.

In a mining Belgian town, Sandrine and Anna, her mother, answer an ad for a local beauty contest that could change their lives forever. Anna is convinced that Sandrine should enter, although the path to victory will have huge costs for both of them.

An unhappily married woman becomes the mistress to a sleaze-ball who introduces her to a group of satanists who are willing to kill her rich husband.

Redheaded twins Armando and Beatriz always dreamed of being firefighters but during a rainy, uneventful winter they find themselves spending less time putting out infernos than they do helping neighbors who’ve locked themselves out of their apartments. This is how Armando meets a pretty young woman with whom he begins a tentative courtship. But soon a rift grows between the siblings and, spurred by Armando’s exaggerated stories about his nascent relationship, Beatriz begins experiencing aural hallucinations that can only be remedied through music and, finally, the love of a stranger. Pinto made this impassioned fairy tale as part of a series of films about the four elements. - FilmLinc

"At first everything was relatively simple. I was looking for a boy of African origins, between 16 and 18 years old to incarnate the role of Alberto in the film I had just written. As they were not actors, I asked candidates to tell me a story of their choice. What they gave me was a lot of life, and they did it with such generosity and authenticity that I was the one concerned. Would I be able to find the same strength, the same emotion?" - Inês de Medeiros

After another failed attempt to get pregnant, a young couple begins to diverge in their desires. Pandemics, climate change and life’s uncertainties loom large. What does it mean to bring a child into an ever-more-complicated world? The cycles of nature and the seasons remain constant either way.

"Until life separates us" tells the story of Raquel, a 42-year-old woman who engages Henry, an 18-year-old boy who is the son of her husband's boss. The relationship between Raquel and Henrique lasts only three days, but the aftermath of this involvement will be remarkable, especially when Henrique begins to relate with Patricia, Rachel's daughter. The bad nature of Henry will lead the young man to a tragic and irreversible end. And the life of Rachel and her family will never be the same.

On a cold winter afternoon, António and Jota return from the front with their friends, looking for an ancient Roman thermal bath. They joke with each other while wading through swamps, recounting past tactical glories. The baths have appeared after a long time spent under the water of a reservoir, and people of all ages curious about the discovery come to spend the day. But there is something mysterious about these thermal waters - as if the baths influence the mood of the men, giving them the courage to say things they have never told anyone. As day turns to night, they confess their feelings and their fears of losing their best friend forever.

Under the harsh rays of the sun, Carlos is laying down. There is sunburn on his back. The wind is still. The air is warm. There’s a dryness in the air. He can barely breathe, until he sees Mateus.

An obsessive exploration of the three geometric dimensions in hopes of reaching a fourth.

One of the most far-reaching events in a human life is the birth of your baby. But life with a newborn can be so ordinary and at the same time all-embracing: the wash is drying in the corridor, the bathroom has to be cleaned. In the calm rhythm of the day, 'Ordinary Time' skims past authentic moments like this.

In this short story, João and Pedro live in this garden. What João wants the most is for Pedro to be happy and the only way he found to make that happen is to support him in his escape with Sara. On the other hand, Pedro learned how to love João and does not want to leave the garden. But one of them ate the forbidden fruit.

It's a summer weekend in a country house near Sintra, in Portugal. Fourteen-year-old Nicolau is spending a couple of days with his older brother Simão and his friends, all of them in their late twenties. Everyone is drawn to the beautiful and quiet Maria do Mar, but Nicolau will see his life the most deeply shaken by her. Between homework and tree-climbing, stories about a deceased philandering grandfather and the origins of the tortellini's shape, a friend in a costume nursing a broken heart and seduction games, Nicolau observes this group of young adults.

An erotic comedy with three episodes: Wedding with soccer; The Mighty Money; Seeing is believing.

Through the madness of summer and to the sound of music, the past and the present of 'Morangos com Açúcar' cross paths in a unique adventure. Between the beach and the pool, the campsite and the holiday camp, long-time friends meet again and new friendships happen.

A largely plotless, fado-scored journey through the gloomy cobblestone streets, zombie bars, and fetid basements of a sordid harbor town populated by German-speaking sots and Portuguese guest workers. An unhappy young couple, Leni and Anton, quarrel and split separately into the rat’s ass of the evening. Everyone is looking for love, but no one finds any—although Leni does pick up a trick.

João Barbela is poor man who lives out of charity - what coins the people of Lisbon's popular districts give him as 'pay' for his puppeteering work. For the kids, he is like a king, Dom Roberto = puppet). When he meets Maria, an equally poor girl, he fancies to change her life, and get her a house, maybe marrying, and being happy together.Life does not exactly have a happy ending, like he managed with his puppets 5-minute plays...

On a foggy night, a blonde woman unexpectedly haunts the path of two young men in a suburban park.

A princess and a hunter. An iconographic journey immersed in Lusitanian fantasy.

A series of 8 short films. Each film was inspired by an Edward Hopper painting. The series has been commissioned by Arte France and produced by Didier Jacob, En Haut des Marches. The 8 shorts are 'Next to Last' by Mathieu Amalric with Frederick Wiseman as Edward Hopper, 'The Muse' by Sophie Barthes with Michael Stuhlbarg, 'Hope' by Dominique Blanc with Clemence Poesy, 'First Row Orchestra' by Sophie Fiennes, 'Conference at Night' by French director Valerie Mrejen, 'Rupture' by young animation director Valerie Pirson, 'Berlin Night Window' by German director Hannes Stohr, 'Mountain' by Danish director Martin de Turah.

Tired of my city, I imagine the arrival of a cowboy in Lisbon.

An examination of bodies, movement and the stillness of landscape brought to you by the entrancing Circus Debre Berhan.

Under the supervision of the tyrannous ruler Supremo, a fleet of aliens responsible for the creation of the universe conduct their daily work around the Milky Way. Among them is a curious alien called Melius, who dreams of leaving their weary job as a star polisher to explore distant planets. When the space probe ‘Voyager 1’ crashes into their ship, Melius sees their chance of escaping using the probe’s coordinates for planet Earth. What follows is an adventure full of extraordinary surprises and new friends, where our hero will be forced to choose between duty and love, their teachings and beliefs.

Free adaptation of Sophocles classic tragedy “King Oedipus” crossed with Jack Kerouac's classic “On the Road”. The starting point is the loss of identity of a generation of Portuguese emigrants. Tebas tells the story of a young man who, looking for his origins, departs from Paris to Portugal with a beatnik truck driver. The film is a voyage into the strange depths of Portugal in the form of surreal road-movie.

During the investigation of a case, Teresa Rubens, a judge with a long career, married and mother of children, finds in court, as a defense witness, a former lover of her student days, Sousa Afonso, who owns some lands in Alentejo.

An artistic vision of a phenomenon in Spanish history, with repercussions in Europe and the West: the exile of 2,895 republican children in the Soviet Union due to the Spanish Civil War; the German invasion of the USSR in World War II; the 19 years spent in the USSR until his return to Spain (1937-1956). It is also autobiographical in nature, because this author revisits the memories of her mother and aunt, who were part of this group of children.

A young musician of 13 years, a member of the Symphonic Orchestra of Agreste of the small town of Sao Caetano, 150 km from Recife, is kidnapped. The police believe the culprit is the creator of the orchestra, conductor Mozart Vieira. With the charge the work done so far with the poor community of the city is in danger of disappearing.

In the 60s, Fernando, a young Portuguese soldier is imprisoned in Goa following the invasion by Indian troops. With no correspondence from his family or girlfriend, he begins to lose his connection to both and to his past, while bonding with the Indian people. While imprisoned, he establishes a routine by doing something he enjoys - cutting hair and trimming the beards of Indian officers, with whom he forms friendships. When he finally receives news that the Portuguese are returning home, Fernando has already decided to stay.

Adriana, an orphan who has been raised in a well off family, becomes pregnant after being seduced by a man. Outraged, Mr. Bento kicks her our of home. What he doesn't realize is that her seducer is his own son, Raul, a brilliant law student.

A writer becomes the main character in the story he intended to write

Portugal, 1944. In a country oppressed by a brutal dictatorship, there are those who resist and mobilize the people to fight for bread and freedom, even if it cost them prison, torture or their lives.

An act of passion, filmed in a church turned into a bar, on Easter 2003, and starring as many actors as the days of the year… Taking the sacred painting as a reference, the film questions the human condition: letting oneself die like Christ or betray scientifically like Peter?

Based on the work by Fernando Pessoa - a "message" about the destinies of Portugal - not just in isolation but looking at them as precursors and announcers of the fate of the entire planet.

Diana is a young woman about to enter adulthood. She lives with her father, Gabriel, a game machine dealer, and Magdalene, the stepmother, alongside those working in a hair salon in a shopping center. One day, Diana discovers that Magdalene not only keeps a secret relationship with Michael, the security center and instructor in the gym of the neighborhood, as resumed his old habit of playing. Not to allow the stepmother to his father do the same as her mother had done to her, Diana decides to intervene, approaching the Magdalene lover.