João Martins

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...

The lives of two women intersect.

A version of Ben Johnson's play: A Venetian swindler goes from town to town pretending to be a dying millionaire in order to attract (and dispose of) greedy "friends".

Lena disappears mysteriously during the winter of 1976. This is the last stop on a journey that begins in colonial Mozambique on new year's eve at 1957 gives way to 1958. Ningo, a black boy brought up by Lena's parents, and her childhood friend, comes to Lisbon to help find her, at the request of Lena's mother. Using the letters that Lena has left behind as a testament to her life, in wich she has rebelled against the challenged the powers that be, Ningo discovers the identity of her kidnapper - Jorge Matos - a former secret policeman who has followed her from Lourenço Marques, motivated by morbid desire. Lena's kidnapper dies from two inexplicable snake bites to the neck, in accordance with a legend and ritual that had been part of Lena and Ningo's childhood.

The film follows Duke and Olivia , a troubled couple living in a gloomy city. Duke is a failed, alcoholic saxophonist, while Olivia works as a striptease dancer. Trapped in a toxic environment, Olivia decides to break free from Duke’s self-destructive lifestyle to uncover her past She was separated from her parents as a child, and with the help of a judge named Gerard, she travels back to her childhood home located on a garbage dump. There, the locals welcome her as the "Madonna of the landfill".

Mozambique, 1969. What was meant to be a peaceful Christmas Eve ends up badly as a group of soldiers brings home a prisoner that will be murdered. Simultaneously, the Capitan's wife arrives in surprise, bringing along a Priest, who is supposed to celebrate the mass.

From her childhood in Alentejo to her career as a singer, Linda de Suza recounts her life, in a Portugal marked by the Salazar dictatorship, with her family and in particular her mother, before fleeing to France as an adult.