Júlio Alves

Dialogue of Shadows uses the exhibition "Pedro Costa: Company" as its raw material, and as a starting point to build a mosaic, sparking a dialogue between several figures from filmmaker Pedro Costa's creative imagination.

I find myself in the middle of a Portuguese forest. A set of abandoned objects related to the attraction's fairs make me think of a schoolmate who wanted to be a ballet dancer. Bumper Cars and a rabbit I found in the forest sparked memories of the visits I made to the Fairs. Then I became a memories collector in contact with these objects. David, Empar, Manuel and Zé join me in this film.

Chantal Akerman and Pedro Costa meet in a movie theatre.

“Sacavém” is a journey through Pedro Costa’s films and focused on his work on “Down to Earth”, “Bones”, “In Vanda's Room“, “Colossal Youth” and “Horse Money” Built on the visual and sound landscape of Pedro Costa’s films and accompanied by his owns reflections on the matter, “Sacavém” serves the audience has a window on how Costas cinema is sensed and conceived.

Lisbon, 1938. Mr. Pereira is the editor of the culture section of an evening paper. Although fascism is on the rise in Europe, like in nearby civil war Spain or even inside Portugal itself in the form of Salazar's regime, Pereira only concerns himself with writing bios and translating French novels. Things change after he hires a young writer as his assistant, getting to know also his girlfriend – both opponents to the regime – and reluctantly helps them when they begin to get in trouble for subversive activities. Eventually, he's forced to take a stand...

In what way does contemporaneity look at objectuality, the world of objects and their relations to human beings? Objects are among us, we’re connected to them, they talk; we create them, but we’re also created by them; they affect us, they inhabit our imaginary, they are part of our memory, together with us they create our community. José Bragança de Miranda convenes a peculiar set of objects to this reflexion.

Four film critics, accompanied by the discreet presence of a director, analyse the origins of their cinephilia.

Can a turtle, the most pacific animal on earth, start a range of significant events that are going to forever change a couple's life? After dividing all their assets, Arnaldo e Barbara still have one decision to make before they formalize their separation: what to do with the turtle? Amongst hesitation and failed solutions, unintended burglaries, police stations, plastic natures and misunderstandings, a single turtle fate is postponing this couple's separation. Because they know that, when they give the turtle back to its natural habitat, their relationship will be over. Are they ready for that last step?