11/05/2015 - Arabian Nights, (Be)Longing and Trails, Exorcisms make up the Portuguese contingent on the Croisette

The presence of Portuguese cinema at the 68th Cannes Film Festival is somewhat limited, but certainly appealing. Leading the contingent is Miguel Gomes’ highly anticipated Arabian Nights [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile], which is part of the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.

Composed of three independent films – The Restless One, The Desolate One and The Enchanted One – Arabian Nights is loosely based on the mythical story of Scheherazade, who entertains the sultan with numerous tales in order to escape being sentenced to death. But here, the tales are based on real stories, gathered by a group of journalists over one year, and then reinvented and transformed into a film script. The movie marks Gomes’ return to the Directors’ Fortnight, where he had previously presented his second feature, This Dear Month of August [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. His subsequent films, Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] and Redemption, were unveiled at Berlin and Venice, respectively.

For Arabian Nights, former Producer on the Move Luís Urbano from O Som e a Fúria set up an international co-production that also involved France (Shellac Sud, as well as Agat Films, Arte France Cinéma, the CNC and the PACA region), Germany (Komplizen Film), Switzerland (Box Productions) and the Eurimages fund. Germany’s The Match Factory is managing the international sales.

Another title produced by O Som e a Fúria is also going to Cannes, as João Pedro Plácido’s directorial debut, (Be)Longing [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (original title: Volta à Terra), is part of the ACID line-up. The film, which won the national competition at the latest DocLisboa, was shot in an isolated hamlet in the northern mountains of Portugal and focuses on four generations who remain there, dealing with the harsh working conditions through solidarity and resisting the temptation to emigrate.

Susana Nobre’s docudrama short Trails, Exorcisms will also screen in the Directors’ Fortnight. The film, seen recently at IndieLisboa, is a Terratreme production following a man in his late forties who has worked in the same factory for the last 25 years. His position is now in danger as the firm waits for the court to deliberate on the insolvency of the factory. Nevertheless, despite their unpaid wages, he and his friends continue to turn up at work every day, in the hope that they will be able to keep their jobs.

Finally, Joana Ferreira is attending the networking platform Producers on the Move (read the interview) to introduce C.R.I.M.’s new line-up of projects, which includes, among others, the upcoming films by Jorge Cramez (Amor Amor [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), and the duo Joaquim Pinto and Nuno Leonel (Pathos).