The 11th AAGFF, whilst supporting the national cinema of the so-called “small” nations, presents a tribute on the contemporary Portuguese cinema. A total of eight—short and feature films, as well as documentaries—which have been internationally screened and recognised, as ideal ambassadors of a new, fresh wave, of Portuguese cinema, will be showcased.
The films of the tribute; in addition to the artistic gaze they provide into Portuguese and same-language Brazilian realities, reveal to us, young and new directors, daring to transcend the older modernist conventions—to experiment with cinematic genres and forms, and to develop new forms of narration; consistent with the digital transformation of the new cinematic world. The tribute, besides a documentary on the Greek Film Archive’s long standing friend, the great auteur Pedro Costa, includes films from young artists, concerning familial mysteries and mournings; a passion for the science of geography; pre-colonial Native American myths and ceremonies; cinematic reflections through the roman poet Lucretius; sensory images of the natural world; queer, epidemiological, horror sci-fi—and finally, the communalistic significance of the samba dance.
It is worth noting, that the cinephile example adopted by the Portuguese film industry, by following new modes of production and film screening, within the market of international film festivals, has managed to make the Portuguese art-cinema, much more popular and give it international visibility—encouraging thus, the confidence of its young creators, in an artistic self-contemplation on what the essence of the Portuguese identity is, whilst showcasing the contemporary cinema of their country.
Curation, programming, introduction: Nina Veligradi
