Rua Escura Filmes

In an ominous Lisbon courtyard where the last executioner of the kingdom once lived, an accident is waiting to happen. After a patient game of who's observing who, four characters will collide with dire consequences. Inspired by the novel The Damned Yard by Nobel Prize-winning Bosnian writer Ivo Andrić, this is a masterclass in slow cinema, a pure 16mm cinematic pleasure by André Gil Mata.

Northern Portugal. An imposing residence with its garden and magnolia tree. As we know, home is a place that film, this outdoor art, has often used to depict less the joys of family life than a pernicious space. André Gil Mata has made it his stage, with its rooms, its furniture, what plays out there and what has already played out there. From one room to another, from one era to another, the film delves deep into this enclosed space, a kind of suffocating box.

Mértola, the Guadiana River, a place of ancient watermills, where flour for bread was milled. A place where birds live and people relax. Fishing boats pass by and the fish leap. The tide rises and falls, with the atmosphere changing every day. The color of the water and the landscape vary throughout the year. At the same time, Manuela Barros Ferreira left us a piece of writing entitled: “Soul”. Why do we gaze at the river?

Europe’s largest lithium mine is about to start operating in Trás-os-Montes, much to the dismay of the local inhabitants. Frederico Lopo induces an earthy sensuality and contrasts two geologies: that of mining prospection and machines, and that of roots and people.

In one of the last rural schools on the border between Galicia and Portugal, Mariana, a four-year-old girl, discovers the world through the stories and legends told by her teacher. As Mariana grows, these tales and the passage of time shape her view of the world, until at eighteen, she faces a crucial decision: to leave her village or remain in this borderland by her mother’s side.

Melgaço, Parada do Monte. The memory of a chance encounter on the border between the real and the imagined, the affection and superstition, has been passed down from generation to generation.

Oranges, or "apples from paradise", once considered sources of eternal youth, can be eaten as they are or squeezed for their juice. They may be bitter or sweet, like love. In the morning they are healthy, in the afternoon they aren't bad, but at night they are deadly. Modern myths about insomnia and other emotional plagues.

“A struggle. A glance inward reveals another world, a mutable world. I only exist within myself.” - Film made during the free workshop "A Nebulosa" in Porto, Portugal. With 122 meters of 16mm Film.