Club Splendida

João, an actress from Lisbon, as she stars in a biopic about Liberada, a gender-nonconforming figure persecuted by the Portuguese Inquisition in the 18th century. The film's production becomes a battleground as João clashes with the director over how Liberada’s legacy should be portrayed. These tensions deepen as João's dreams are increasingly haunted by Liberada's ghost, blurring the lines between past and present. When the director succumbs to a mysterious paralysis, leaving the film unfinished, João is left to navigate the unfolding chaos. She faces unanswerable questions, not only about the film's future but also about her own connection to Liberada’s spirit and story.

Sprout. In the vacant lots against the hammering of buildings always under construction, between walls of granite, cement and sheet metal with rust, moss and cats; on the hillside between the train and the river, next to the traffic on the highway, facing the subway, vegetable gardens sprout. In this city, the choreography of ancient gestures of cultivating the land is repeated day after day, without fail. Sowing, digging, harvesting, watering, eating, talking, resting and returning the next day. The longest day of the year brings S. João and nobody goes to bed, but when the sun rises, the discreet gestures of resistance will restart.

Doubt creeps in as Cosmo, a space traveller, addresses his gender identity. In need of clarity and change, he wants to risk crossing the Butterfly Nebula. His spaceship, on the other hand, has a personality of her own. Cosmo will need to negotiate change with a certain loss of control.