Um Quarto na Cidade

A Room in Town is a game of references and a tribute to director Jacques Demy. It’s also an opportunity for the two directors to recall Demy’s A Room in Town (the film’s namesake) and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the importance these movies had for them.

In response to a challenge launched in Recife under the motto 'I Remember', João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata return to the first film they saw together and to the generosity of the moment: lacking the subtitles on the pirate VHS, João Pedro sings the entire film in Portuguese so that João Rui can also be enchanted. “And you don't even sing all that well, João Pedro…”. But the charm persisted and the memory of this moment leads us to touch lightly on so many others: from Jacques Demy to Anita Cerquetti, from Brittany to Vladivostok, on a beautiful journey of 30 years of life and films together. (Margarida Moz)

Director's Bio

João Pedro Rodrigues is an internationally renowned Portuguese filmmaker. When he was 8 years old, his father gave him a pair of binoculars and he decided to become an ornithologist. He always travels with his binoculars, making forays into nature and watching birds.

João Rui Guerra da Mata was born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. He spent his education years in Macao, China. He has been working in cinema since 1995.