As part of its mission to screen the best Portuguese cinema, IndieLisboa 2017 emphasises the presence of Portuguese films and directors in the different sections of the festival once again. A total of 24 films compete, in different programs of shorts and feature films, for the National Competition awards in 2017.
Amor Amor, the most recent film by Jorge Cramez, deals with the questions that rise when a person enters the adult life through the eyes of a group of friends in their 30s. Luz Obscura, the documentary by Susana de Sousa Dias, recreates the familiar story of political activist Octávio Pato, through the memory of archive footage of PIDE and the testimony of his children. Miguel Clara Vasconcelos’ Encontro Silencioso reflects on the current history and politics through the fantasy of a student. A personal journey through climate changes is the premise of Dia 32, by André Valentim Almeida, a film which challenges us to think about the way humanity impacts the world we live in. Fade Into Nothing, by Pedro Maia, in collaboration with Paulo Furtado, continues the narrative about a lonely man’s trip, started in How to Become Nothing. Coração Negro, the most recent fictional work by Rosa Coutinho Cabral follows the degradation of the love life of a couple on the brinks of ending their relationship.
As for the short films, it is worthwhile to mention the return of Joana Pimenta (awarded at IndieLisboa 2014 with her first work) with her recent project Um Campo de Aviação, a story full of ghosts about the buried cities, lost civilisations and west colonialism. With an impressive presence in international film festivals since its premiere in January, Ico Costa presents Nyo Vweta Nafta, a work that sits between fiction and documentary which deconstruct the various layers of human behaviour and daily life in today’s Mozambique. Also a return to our festival, André Ruivo premieres the fun and ironic animation O Circo. Ubi Sunt, the hybrid and electrifying project by Salomé Lamas is a film about the human and urban layers of a city in expansion. In O Caso J, José Filipe Costa gives us some insight on police violence in Rio de Janeiro, by narrating a trivial court story to show us the implicit theatre play. Lava as a vista is the focus point of Na Cinza Fica Calor, by Mónica Martins Nunes, where we follow the inhabitants of Chã das Caldeiras in Ilha do Fogo (Cape Verde). Contemporary hierarchy misconceptions fill O Turno da Noite by Hugo Pedro with comedic undertones. The childhood memories told through animation in O Limoeiro by Joana Silva; the trip to the places and people of Trás-os-Montes through the Portugal Guide and a director looking for his film, is the premise presented by Miguel Moraes Cabral in O Homem de Trás-os-Montes and the letter-memory-souvenir is the film Num Globo de Neve, by André Gil Mata. There is a plague of flowers and reflexions on feelings of ownership in Flores by Jorge Jácome and we look for a cross between humanity and modified genetics in Semente Exterminadora, by Pedro Neves Marques. We find stories about youth in Diogo Baldaia’s Miragem Meus Putos, the last moment before starting the first job in Tudo o que Imagino, by Leonor Noivo, and the dialetics between memories and different generational stories of a family in De Madrugada, by Inês de Lima Torres. Looking for other artistic ways of expression in From Vincent’s House in the Borinage, by José Fernandes, with a trip to the Van Gogh’s life and work, and Antão, o Invisível, by Maya Kosa and Sérgio da Costa, who question the significance of vision in visual arts.
In the Director’s Cut section, the autobiography of the filmmaker Manuel de Guimarães in Nasci com a Trovoada, by Leonor Areal. The analysis of the film universe, its relation with technology and the actor and viewer’s role are focused on in the documentary Special A/Effects, by Filipe Afonso. And something that comes close to appropriation from Eisenstein go John Ford’s film is told in Young Mr. Lincoln by Eisenstein, by Guilherme Rodriguez.
In IndieJúnior, Hugo Santos’ documentary, O Impacto da Música na Juventude animates some of the most important influences in music when growing up. And Talasnal by João Teotónio, follows the process of creating the band Nome Comum in Serra da Lousã, in the IndieMusic Section.
The Special Screenings include the national premiere of Colo, the most recent feature film by Teresa Villaverde, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival; the world premiere of Rosas de Ermera, the documentary by Luís Filipe Rocha about Zeca Afonso’s family and the first feature film by Leonordo Mouramateus, António Um Dois Três. As for short films, we highlight A Construção da Villa Além, by Ana Resende, Miguel C. Tavares, Rui Manuel Vieira e Tiago Costa.