After the Light

The world of the favela Reboleira is coming to an end. A motorway project is threatening this little village in the heart of Lisbon. Alternating documentary segments on the local history with narratives by various inhabitants, the film captures a vulnerable way of life, in danger of imminent disappearance.

Jyzone has just got out of prison. He has found a new job, but the people he meets on the way to work risk making him late for his first day. Through a choreographic and poetic portrait outlined by skillful camera work, director Basil Da Cunha explores the violent neighborhood of Cova da Moura in Lisbon, with the participation of its inhabitants.

Zé, a 50-year-old alcoholic, works in the port of Lisbon where he loads and unloads containers. Zé never left his neighborhood and is hiding his savings so that one day he'll be able to board one of the huge cruise ships he sees everyday. When his jealous wife steals his money, Zé will do everything to fulfil his dream.

Twenty-year-old Rosa leaves her two children in Cape Verde and relocates to Lisbon in the hope of giving them a better life. Caught between the harassment of gangster bosses and daily police violence, Rosa tries to find comfort in the women of the community. But her real escape is music.

Spira comes home from a juvenile detention center and reconnects with his loved ones in Reboleira (Lisbon), a slum on the verge of being destroyed. Kikas makes it clear that he’s not welcome.

Reboleira, a suburb of Lisbon. After a robbery gone wrong, a car ends up crashed right in the middle of the neighborhood. The driver is arrested, but the €180,000 that were stolen have vanished. Within the area sealed off by the police, rumors spread and speculations run wild. Among the residents, a whole cast of colorful characters dream of getting their hands on the loot. Who will the first to get their hands on it?

Nuvem, a young man with a strong penchant for stroll and daydream and little given to work, prefers the company of dogs and clowns. Seeing the indifference of his entourage, he lets his need for independence guide him and sets out to find the mysterious sunfish.

Serguei is a 50 year old railway worker, seemingly cheerful and sociable. But within the intimacy of his gloomy apartment, he lives a terrible loneliness that he tries to make up for by watching funny shows on television. When it breaks down, he tries to repair it and overhears a couple’s argument in the apartment next door. Driven by a growing fascination for the woman’s voice, he starts to vicariously share her everyday life, till the day he walks through her door…