Traditionally an example of what Mette Hjort and
Duncan Petrie have dubbed the “cinema of small nations”, Portuguese cinema has
generally been characterised by low production numbers. In recent years,
Portuguese filmmakers have seen their work celebrated at a series of
prestigious international events, from João Salaviza’s Golden Palm in Cannes to
Miguel Gomes’ presence at the Berlin Film Festival with the critically
acclaimed Tabu.
This seminar wishes to explore the new international
interest in the cinema made in Portugal by being particularly focused on the
dichotomy between fantasy and reality. On the one hand, Portuguese cinema often
questions whether the events and spaces portrayed on screen really happened or
exist, being characterised by a sense of reverie, as in Gomes’ A Cara que mereces/The Face You Deserve (2004).
On the other, documentary has been expanding dramatically, in terms of
production (48, by Susana de Sousa
Dias, was awarded de Cinéma du Réel Grand Prix in 2010) and exhibition (when we
consider for instance the success and fast growth of the international film
festival DocLisboa), and there is a sense in which the real country must be featured on screen.
This seminar wishes to question the pervasiveness of
fantasy and reality as foundational themes in Portugal’s contemporary cinematic
identity. We are interested in both short and feature films, including fiction,
documentary and animation. We particularly welcome papers on popular cinema.
Topics may include but are not limited to:
-
dreams
and visions in Portuguese film
-
re-imagining
the past
-
Portuguese
national identity and the notion of illusion
-
fantastic
characters and events
-
the
“real” Portugal
-
the
limits of cinematic representation
Please submit
an abstract (max. 250 words), contact information and short bio (max. 100
words) to Mariana Liz: m.liz@qmul.ac.uk. Submission Deadline: 3 January 2013.
The seminar
will begin with a screening of Ruínas/Ruins
(2009), followed by a Q&A with director Manuel Mozos in conversation with Kieron Corless from the BFI.
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