Directing

Paulo Abreu

Pablo Abreu (Portugal, 1964) studied film in Lisbon and New York. He worked as director of photography in films by such directors as Paulo Rocha, Bruno de Almeida, Rodrigo Areias and André Gil Mata. He directed more than 20 experimental films that were selected and awarded internationally.

Known For

Mário Eloy - A Runaway PainterMário Eloy - A Runaway Painter · 1998
Mário Eloy - A Runaway Painter
★ 7.31998
MovieDocumentary
Documentary about the life and work of Mário Eloy, one of the greatest painters of the second generation of modernism in Portugal.
Impression XImpression X · 2023
Impression X
★ 1.02023
MovieMystery
CalhauCalhau · 2025
Calhau
2025
Movie
Three men wash ashore in a forgotten cove, where time seems to have stood still. Surrounded by volcanic rocks and tides, they find themselves confined in a place as beautiful as it is inhospitable. As the days go by, a strange presence begins to insinuate itself among them.
The GravediggerThe Gravedigger · 2012
The Gravedigger
★ 9.02012
MovieHorrorFantasy
Inspired by popular cult, O COVEIRO is part light part darkness, a bedtime story and almost a nightmare. A child is born and his parents die of fright just to see him. André Gil Mata revisits the traditional Portuguese tale, in a fantastic movie where heads bounce, but you hear a song.
TebasTebas · 2007
Tebas
★ 3.52007
MovieDrama
Free adaptation of Sophocles classic tragedy “King Oedipus” crossed with Jack Kerouac's classic “On the Road”. The starting point is the loss of identity of a generation of Portuguese emigrants. Tebas tells the story of a young man who, looking for his origins, departs from Paris to Portugal with a beatnik truck driver. The film is a voyage into the strange depths of Portugal in the form of surreal road-movie.
8816 Versos8816 Versos · 2013
8816 Versos
2013
MovieDocumentary
VanitasVanitas · 2004
Vanitas
★ 4.52004
MovieDrama
Vanitas is the new feature film by veteran Portuguese director Paulo Rocha. With a script by Regina Guimarães, the film brings together actresses Isabel Ruth and Joana Bárcia – no strangers to this director's world – in a story about a depressed fashion designer who falls in love with the daughter of one her tailors.
The ScoundrelThe Scoundrel · 2012
The Scoundrel
2012
MovieFantasyDrama
The story of a vigilante friar, zealous caretaker of goodness and order who, after suffering unrequited love for an engaged woman, becomes a terrifying villain in a quiet town.

Filmography

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Crime Abyss Blue Physical RemorseCrime Abyss Blue Physical Remorse · 2009
Crime Abyss Blue Physical Remorse
★ 4.02009
Movie
Crime Blue Abyss Physical Remorse is inspired by the life and works of Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso. This controversial 20th century painter defied the world avant-garde of his time: “I don’t follow schools. I am an impressionist, cubist, futurist, abstractionist. A melting pot. The real tradition is not to try and relive the past – which is impossible to achieve – but rather something that sets up a follow-through, as happens with parents and children. A child and his father are never alike.” The film follows Amadeo’s motto. It crosses pictorial fiction – suggested by the emblematic picture “The Procession”, painted in Paris in 1913 – with Portuguese contemporary reality.

Cinematography