Cinequanon

The film documents two phases of an incident occurred in Portugal, during the 1974 revolution. In September 30, 1974, José Diogo, a tractor driver, kills his boss, Columbano Líbano Monteiro, after being dismissed from his job, when he claimed his right to work. He is imprisoned in Beja, Alentejo, and he is freed until prossecution. The courts are reluctant to judge him, because of the social unrest and the political aid Diogo is receiving from trade unions and political parties. A crowd will disrupt the court, in Tomar, and conduct a popular judgement in the hall of the tribunal, deciding to free Diogo, and condemning the boss, posthumously, for dismissing his employee and attacking him. The case became a law case study since then.

The film follows the process of occupation of Quinta da Vargem, in Unhais da Serra, by salaried workers, a process that would lead to the nationalization of the Quinta. Ocupação de Terras na Beira Baixa (Land Occupation in Beira Baixa) is part of a series of films produced by the Cinequanon film cooperative in Unhais da Serra during the period of the Agrarian Reform.