This year, the International Competition of feature films starts on May 4th and brings us 12 films (first, second or third works) by national or international directors. With a selection of works of fiction, documentaries or experimental cinema, the competition includes co-productions from 14 different countries.
With a cast which includes Jaime Freitas, Eduardo Frazão, Ana Moreira, Margarida Vila-Nova and Joana de Verona, Amor Amor, the second feature film by Jorge Cramez, uses a written work by Corneille as a starting point to build a dramatic comedy which takes place on the last day of the year. João Dumans (who co-wrote Marília Rocha’s A CIdade Onde Envelheço) and Affonso Uchoa narrate, in Araby, the epic travels of Cristiano to find a job, in a humanistic road movie about the act of building political and social consciousness in Brazil. The Human Surge (a Portuguese co-production with Bando à Parte), by Eduardo Williams, is an anachronistic string of thoughts on work and leisure, film and digital social media. The first feature film by Simon Gillard, Boli Bana, follows the ritual of entering adulthood in the Fulani tribe (Burkina Faso), through the stories of young Ama and Aissita. The Challenge redefines what we think of when we talk about Arabian luxury by taking a look at modern falconry. This first feature film by Yuri Ancarani (winner of the award for Best Short Film, in IndieLisboa 2013, for Da Vinci) preserves his precise look on things and his orchestral vision of the world. The second feature film by Song Chuan, Ciao Ciao, creates a plot as if written by Tennessee Williams, split between the epic vistas of rural China and the intimate close ups, as a way to show the opposing versions of China, the rural one and the urban one. The Idea of a Lake, by Milagros Mumenthaler, follows Inés on a trip through her childhood memories, during a lazy summer in the south of Argentina. Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki compile, in El mar el mar, a 3 year long trip where we discover stories about human trafficking in the desert of Sonora, considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. With Ordinary People, Eduardo Roy Jr. builds a powerful melodrama around the story of Jane, Aries and their kidnapped son in the streets of Manila. Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel return to IndieLisboa with their second film, Somniloquies, which makes us dive into the dreams of songwriter Dion McGregor, famously known as the person who talked in his sleep, more than anyone else in the world. Dark Skull is the first feature film by Kiro Russo, who has won the award for Best Short Film twice at IndieLisboa (2012 and 2016). His strong documentarian vision now brings us a look at the harsh work conditions in the Huanuni mines, in Bolivia. And Werewolf, the first feature film by Ashley McKenzie, focuses on the relationship between Blaise and Nessa, two homeless people who are on a methadone withdrawal program.AMOR AMOR
Jorge Cramez, Portugal, fic., 2017, 107′
7 SUNDAY, 18H00, CULTURGEST GA | 10 WEDNESDAY, 11H00, CULTURGEST PA | 13 SATURDAY, 16H45, CULTURGEST PA
ARÁBIA/ARABY
Affonso Uchoa, João Dumans, Brazil, fic., 2017, 98′
6 SATURDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 9 TUESDAY, 19H00, CINEMA IDEAL
EL AUGE DEL HUMANO/THE HUMAN SURGE
Eduardo Williams, Argentina/Brazil/Portugal, fic., 2016, 100′
10 WEDNESDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 12 FRIDAY, 22H15, CINEMA IDEAL
BOLI BANA
Simon Coulibaly Gillard, Belgium, doc., 2017, 60′
8 MONDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 10 WEDNESDAY, 19H00, CINEMA IDEAL
THE CHALLENGE
Yuri Ancarani, France/Italy/Swizerland, doc., 2016, 69′
9 TUESDAY, 19H00, CULTURGEST GA | 11 THURSDAY, 22H15, CINEMA IDEAL
CIAO CIAO
Song Chuan, France/China, fic., 2017, 83′
4 THURSDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 8 MONDAY, 19H00, CINEMA IDEAL
LA IDEA DE UN LAGO/THE IDEA OF A LAKE
Milagros Mumenthaler, Swizerland/Argentina/Qatar, fic., 2016, 82′
4 THURSDAY, 19H00, CINEMA SÃO JORGE SMO | 10 WEDNESDAY, 21H00, CINEMA IDEAL
EL MAR LA MAR
J.P. Sniadecki, Joshua Bonnetta, USA, doc., 2017, 94′
4 THURSDAY, 19H00, CULTURGEST GA | 6 SATURDAY, 19H00, CINEMA IDEAL
PAMILYA ORDINARYO/ORDINARY PEOPLE
Eduardo Roy Jr., Philippines, fic., 2016, 107′
5 FRIDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 7 SUNDAY, 19H00, CINEMA IDEAL
SOMNILOQUIES
Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel, France/United Kingdom/USA, doc., 2017, 74′
9 TUESDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 11 THURSDAY, 18H00, CINEMA IDEAL
VIEJO CALAVERA/DARK SKULL
Kiro Russo, Bolivia/Qatar, doc., fic., 2016, 80′
8 MONDAY, 19H00, CULTURGEST GA | 9 TUESDAY 21H00, CINEMA IDEAL
WEREWOLF
Ashley Mckenzie, Canada, fic., 2016, 74′
11 THURSDAY, 21H30, CULTURGEST GA | 12 FRIDAY, 18H00, CINEMA IDEAL