25/10/2011

The fifth edition of the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival will run from November 4-13. For the first time, the event is being held in the Portuguese capital, as well as in the city of Estoril, which has been hosting it since its creation.

Just like previous years, the festival puts cinema at the heart of its programme whilst at the same time trying to build bridges with other arts (painting, literature…), whether with its parallel activities (exhibitions, debates), or through its guests and jury members (which, for the second time, includes American writer-director Paul Auster, among others).

The Lisboan line-up includes ten national premieres, 11 European films in competition, another 11 out of competition, homages to directors Leos Carax and William Friedkin and several special sections, including one in which San Sebastian’s latest Golden Shell winner, Isaki Lacuesta, will present the documentary The Mud Notebook, made in collaboration with Majorcan painter Miquel Barceló.

A Woman’s Revenge, by Rita Azevedo Gomes (Fragile As the World), is the only national production in competition and is based on Barbey d'Aurevilly’s short story “A Woman’s Revenge” (from the collection “The She-Devils"). Screening alongside it are three French films: Valérie Donzelli’s Declaration of War [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Patricia Mazuy’s Of Women and Horses [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and Cédric Kahn’s A Better Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile]; three German flicks: Christian Petzold’s Beats Being Dead (Three Lives), Dominik Graf’s Don’t Follow me Around, and Christoph Hochhäusler’s One Minute of Darkness [+see also:
film review
film profile]; two Russians: Target and Twilight Portrait; a Norwegian title: Oslo, August 31st [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile]; and an Albanian: Amnesty [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bujar Alimani
film profile]. The selection is in keeping with the spirit of the festival, which, according to organisers, tries to give visibility to film productions that, “otherwise wouldn’t reach national mainstream audiences”.

In avant-premiere, the audience will get the chance to discover, among others, the latest top winner at the Goyas: Agustí Villaronga’s Black Bread [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; and controversial films The Skin I Live In [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile] by Pedro Almodóvar, and Melancholia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lars von Trier
film profile] by Lars Von Trier. Out of competition, the event will show Philippe Garrel’s barely acclaimed That Summer [+see also:
trailer
interview: Philippe Garrel
film profile]; and the Golden Lion winner at this year’s Venice Film Festival: Aleksandr Sokurov’s Faust.

As at previous editions, the Cineuropa Award will be presented to one of the films in competition.

(Translated from Spanish)