Archive

Synopsis:

A funny, provocative and revealing portrait of the life and career of Ken Loach, one of the most celebrated and controversial British filmmakers. The director, Louise Osmond, puts in perspective a career that spans 50 years, showing an intelligent and fascinating portrait of a humble and discreet artist. The documentary focuses mainly on Loach’s creative process, with numerous interviews with friends, critics, colleagues and family: Cillian Murphy, Gabriel Byrne, Paul Laverty, Nell Dunn, Alan Parker, Melvyn Bragg, Sheila Hancock, Ricky Tomlinson, Chris Menges, Crissy Rock, and Barry Ackroyd. This year Ken Loach celebrates his 80th birthday with a great film that won the “Palme d’Or” in Cannes: I, Daniel Blake. Using an intimate approach, Versus depicts a man and a great filmmaker who keeps on shaking up consciousness with his sociallycommitted films.

2016: British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): Nomeado melhor documentário

Sinopse:

O Espírito de 45 é composto em grande medida pelas entrevistas com aqueles que viveram a construção do Estado Social. O trabalhista Clement Attlee ganha de forma esmagadora as eleições ao vencedor da II Guerra Mundial, o conservador Winston Churchill. Se durante a guerra o país tinha adoptado um modelo colectivista para vencer o fascismo e havia conseguido cumprir o objetivo, por que razão não adoptar a mesma organização em tempos de paz? Foram estas as linhas mestras do Manifesto com que o partido Trabalhista se apresentou nos comícios de Julho de 1945. Desta forma, dá-se início à construção do Estado Social britânico. Até aos anos 80, quando Margaret Thatcher começa a demoli-lo para o entregar à iniciativa privada. A ideia do documentário é clara: a crise actual exige uma saída tão radical como a de então. É um tema de grande actualidade. De facto, o Partido Trabalhista anunciou recentemente, dentro do seu programa, a nacionalização de certas empresas. Mas o fundamental de O Espírito de 45 é que procura abrir o debate, agitar consciências, mostrar que a luta por um mundo mais justo e socializado é possível.

Propomos que seja visto em conjunto com o filme Eu, Daniel Blake.

Synopsis:

The Spirit of '45 is composed mainly of interviews with those who saw the construction of the British Welfare State. The labour leader Clement Attlee achieves a landslide victory in the elections and beats the conservative leader Winston Churchill. During the war the country had adopted a collectivist model to fight fascism and it succeeded in its mission. Then, why not adopt the same model in peace time. Those were some of the key policies outlined in the manifesto of the Labour Party in July 1945. This is the origin of the British Welfare State and it continued until the 80’s, when Mrs. Thatcher initiated its destruction, giving it away into private hands. The idea of the documentary is clear: the current crisis requires a solution as radical as that one. This is a pressing issue. In fact, the Labour Party has recently announced in its electoral manifesto the nationalization of certain companies. But what’s fundamental in The Spirit of '45 is that it tries to create a debate, shake up conciousness and show that it’s possible to fight for a fairer and more social world. We suggest you watch this film together with I, Daniel Blake.

Synopsis:

The film moves between underwater silence and outdoor rural life, where the Ama-san, the women of the sea, occupy a special place, being revered and at the same time misunderstood. The Ama-san have been diving in the sea for more than 2,000 years. In Wagu, a small fishing village in the Shima peninsula in Japan, three women of different ages have been collecting molluscs for 30 years. And always without oxygen tanks. Cláudia Verajão shows their daily lives, their demanding and meticulous tasks, both on land and in the sea. these women of the sea have succeeded in gaining a respected status, and by doing so, contradict the role of women in Japanese society.

2016: Menção Especial - Karlovy Vary Film Festival

2016: Doc-Lisboa: Melhor documentário

2016: Prémio Especial da Fundação Bellona - IFF Message to Man

2016: Prémio Ingreme/Doclisboa Melhor Filme da Competição Portuguesa

2016: Melhor Filme na Competição Extra Muros - Pravo Ljudski Film Festival

2016: Prémio Teenage - Porto/Post/Doc

2016: Melhor Filme - Play-Doc

Synopsis:

Dersu Uzala is a perfect tale about the delicate relationship between two worlds on the brink of extinction: the gentlemen explorers from the XIX century and free-spirited mountain men. Captain Vladímir Arséniev (1872-1930), one of the greatest Russian explorers, leads an expedition in the western Siberian woods, mapping uncharted land, crossing rivers and vast forests. It’s a shamanic journey. The narrative moves into more intimate territories, into interior landscapes where Arséniev finds the meaning of life through Dersu Uzala’s eyes and words, as he is the life master, the Basho from Kamchatka. The film is based on the travel books written by the explorer during his three geological expeditions in the name of the Tzar between 1902 and 1908. Dersu Uzala portrays human life in harmony with nature, something forgotten in the refined societies in Russia at the beginning of the XX century. With Dersu the wood is alive, full of messages: the fire and the moon talk, the river and the trees are its inhabitants. Dersu will teach Vladimir how to respect and live in harmony with nature.

As Arseniev and Kurosawa depict their increasing fascination with the Taiga, the seasonal colours in the magical Siberian wood unfold.

1975: Óscar: Melhor filme de língua não inglesa

1975: Grande prémio no festival internacional de Moscovo

1976: Prémios David di Donatello: Melhor director estrangeiro

TRAVELLING COUNTRY (País Viajante)

Synopsis:

Travelling Country is a film about the collision of past, present and future. It is a fantastic tale about the search of one’s true identity and freedom.

THE EAGLE HUNTRESS (A Caçadora e a Águia)

Synopsis:

For 2,000 years the people living in western Mongolia have maintained their tradition of hunting with golden eagles, birds of prey with a wingspan of more than 2 metres. Although this job is normally reserved for men, Aisholpan, a 13 year-old girl is determined to become a hunter, just like her dad and her grandfather. And so she begins to study the necessary techniques required for this pursuit. To achieve her goal she needs to beat 70 rivals in a competition and in that way finally be accepted.

Otto Bell directs this documentary which includes spectacular scenery and everyday scenes that portray Aisholpan struggling to make her dreams come true. The film approaches gender issues in a traditional society. A great film for all the family!

Synopsis:

An original comedy, full of bitterness, directed by Maren Ade, narrates the extravagant fight of a father to recover his daughter, an aggressive workaholic manager. This father´s constant farcical efforts put his brilliant, pragmatic, icy daughter on the verge of a nervous breakdown, jeopardizing her career, but she learns to feel, laugh and live. While exploring topics such as the sexism or inhumanity of capitalism, or lack of communication between parents and children, this film has no need to sugarcoat with happy endings or wallow in misery to move us deeply. The Academy of European Cinema, headed by Wim Wenders, gave five major awards to this film: best film, direction, script, best actor (Peter Simonischek) and best actress (Sandra Hüller). Those who foresaw the grace and charm of Toni Erdmann were right. This is an unusual comedy, packed with splendid gags and hilarious situations, equipped with the power of observation to portray very credible characters in a mixture of realism and absurdity.

2017: 6 Prémios do Cinema Alemão, incluindo filme e director

2016: Prémios Óscar: Nomeado melhor filme de língua não inglesa

2016: Globos de Ouro: Nomeado melhor filme de língua não inglesa

2016: Prémios BAFTA: Nomeado melhor filme de língua não inglesa

2016: Prémios César: Nomeado melhor filme estrangeiro

2016: Prémios do Cinema Europeu: Melhor filme, director, guião, actor e actriz

Synopsis:

Ken Loach´s cinema contains an undeniable romanticism. Loach is the Quixotic defender of minorities on the big screen, and that may be the reason why he is unable to retire, in spite of announcing it for more than half a decade, unable to leave unfinished a never ending battle. In his latest film, I, Daniel Blake, the director shows his mind is as clear as ever in his career, and his hand even steadier than usual, when it comes to denouncing injustices and relentlessly aiming at this new world’s oligarchs and tyrants. A blue collar worker, Daniel Blake, aged 59, has a heart attack. After being diagnosed with a serious heart condition, he is advised to stop working. However, when doing the paperwork he gets tangled in a Kafkian maze and he is denied the benefits he is entitled to. In the same office of the Department of Work and Pensions he meets Katie, who is in an even more desperate situation. Both will help and give hope. The ending doesn´t only have a protesting tone, but an epic one too. Something as basic as writing in a letter or spraying on a wall: “My name is Daniel Blake and I am a human being”.

We suggest watching this film together with the documentary by Ken Loach The Spirit of ‘45.

2016: Festival de Cannes: Palma de Ouro

2016: Prémios BAFTA: Melhor filme britânico - 5 nomeações

2016: Prémios Goya: Nomeado melhor filme europeu

2016: Prémios César: Melhor filme estrangeiro

2016: Prémios David di Donatello: Melhor filme da União Europeia

2016: Prémios do Cinema Europeu: 4 nomeações, incluindo melhor filme

Synopsis:

Jim Jarmusch´s latest film is truely delightful: a poem in prose about accepting life with wit and humour. Its innocence is almost miraculous. Also, Adam Driver´s face is something to fall in love with. The film is about a man named Paterson who works in Paterson, New Jersey. This coincidence refers somehow to the epic poem (same name, same place) by the poet William Carlos Williams. Paterson is a poet too (and an admirer of Williams) and a bus driver. He writes verses during his breaks. His wife Laura encourages his writing and Paterson supports Laura in her projects. They have a happy marriage, an unusual object of portrayal in cinema. Jarmusch´s film is a gem, the story of Paterson and Laura, a celebration of life with humbleness and grace.

2016: Festival de Cannes: Secção oficial longas-metragens a concurso

2016: Prémios David di Donatello: Nomeado melhor filme estrangeiro

2016: Críticos de Los Angeles: Melhor actor (Adam Driver)

2016: Prémios Gotham: Nomeado melhor filme, guião e actor (Adam Driver)

Opening drink sponsored by CASA DAS PORTAS