Portuguese docfest Doclisboa celebrates its 20th edition with a special edition and opening/closing sessions held simultaneously in the cities of Lisbon (opening at Cinema São Jorge and closing at Culturgest) and Porto (Cinema Trindade). The festival runs October 6 to 15.
The opening session will take October 6 with the Portuguese premiere of North Terminal, by Lucrecia Martel. The acclaimed filmmaker returns to documentary cinema with a short film made during the pandemic, where she follows the singer Julieta Laso in her various encounters with an extraordinary group of Argentine artists in the Salta region.
“In the company of copleras – singers of traditional music – a classical music pianist, a trap music rapper, a female duet, the first coplera trans and the acclaimed guitarist Bubu Rios, as well as many others, Martel’s camera records jam sessions and conversations on music and identities, building an intimate portrait of these artists who, during a period when all doors were closed [due to Covid], find here a space of liberation,” write festival organisers.
The opening session will include a musical show, starring Portuguese composer and singer Lula Pena, who will present a sound experience at Cinema São Jorge, in Lisbon.
The closing session of the festival is scheduled for October 15th, at both Culturgest and Cinema Trindade, screening Love Lights by Acácio de Almeida and Marie Carré, described as “a declaration of love to photography and cinema.”
“Acácio de Almeida, one of the most important Portuguese directors of photography, makes his debut in filmmaking, offering us a distinctive look at the role of light in his work and cinema. The film follows this past made of memories, honoring the actresses and actors whose faces he illuminated, such as Maria Cabral, Isabel Ruth, José Mário Branco and Beatriz Batarda, among many others. Love Lights is an ode to the history of Portuguese cinema and a statement of his passion for the art of the moving images,” write festival organisers.
