27/02/2014 - Portuguese cinema is being represented by over 50 productions, including Filipe Henriques’ The Thorn of the Rose and Pecado Fatal, by Luis Diogo

Tomorrow, Fantasporto will fire the starting pistol to kick off ten days of (mainly) genre cinema at the Rivoli Theatre in Porto. Almost 200 films from a total of 33 countries, including 53 Portuguese productions, will be presented at its 34th edition this year, which is notable for the official return of its president, Mário Dorminsky, after he spent years in politics.

In addition to the Portuguese Cinema competition section, national productions – mainly short films, but also two features that have not yet been screened in Portugal – can also be found in the Fantastic Cinema, Directors’ Week and Fantas Shorts sections. The two Portuguese feature films being premiered are The Thorn of the Rose and Pecado Fatal.

Filmed in Bissau, The Thorn of the Rose is a co-production by the televised content company Plural Entertainment S.L. and Guinea-Bissau. The director, Filipe Henriques, who was born in Africa 34 years ago, has created a thrilling story in which a prosecuting attorney sees his professional success threatened by the secrets held by Rosa, a mysterious woman whom he falls in love with. After grisly events occur, the attorney will have to confront his own demons, prove his innocence and rebuild his reputation. Julio Mesquita, Ady Batista, Daniel Martinho and Ângelo Torres star in the movie, which has not yet been seen in Portugal but which won an award last November at the Luanda Film Festival. Fantasporto is sponsoring its national preview.

Moreover, Pecado Fatal, by the producer, scriptwriter and filmmaker Luis Diogo, is representing Portugal in the Directors’ Week section. Produced by Filmografo and starring Sara Barros Leitao and Miguel Meira, the film focuses on a love story that begins on a night out. A crime is committed during the evening, and inexplicable, hazy recollections then start to return to the victim – memories that could end up jeopardising the relationship.

Looking beyond national cinema, this year Fantasporto is opening with the US film Vampire Academy, by Mark Waters, and closes on 9 March with Jonathan Teplitzky’s The Railway Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, while its new Fantas Classic section is dedicated to the US director Victor Fleming. In this section, audiences will be able to find remastered copies of The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.

(Translated from Spanish)