Portugal Opens Up After Covid-19 With IndieLisboa’

• Nigeria’s Eyimofe set to feature

Today, April 30th, the 17th IndieLisboa was supposed to start in Lisbon. For this reason, we decided to symbolically present most of the selected films of this 2020 edition. From August 25th to September 5th, IndieLisboa – International Film Festival will bring to the audience the best and latest national and international cinema to Portugal.

A transversal program that crosses borders, brings cultures together and gives voice to movements that have marked history. Starting with the retrospective of the work of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène and the retrospective that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Berlinale Forum, composed of films shown in its first edition in 1971. In the Silvestre section, the focus will be on the Franco-Senegalese director Mati Diop, who competed with her first feature film Atlantique at the Cannes Film Festival. In the main competitions, a special selection of recent productions will be screened, in addition to the other sections of the festival for different cinema lovers, who like music, linked to history and political and social urgencies, and those who are also looking to celebrate.

A special highlight for the international competition, one of the most awaited at the festival, this year consisting of 12 features and 31 short films. Among the feature films, it is fair to highlight two titles: the Senegalese Baamum Nafi / Nafi’s father, by Mamadou Dia; and Eyimofe / This Is My Desire, by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri, from Nigeria, ensuring a strong African presence in this edition of the festival. In addition, there are also two Spanish filmmakers, Luis López Carrasco (El Anõ del Descubrimiento / The Year of the Discovery), who tells us about EXPO’92 and the other Spain that was not visible in this exhibition, and Lois Patiño (Lúa Vermella / Red Moon Tide) who tells us about the myths of Galicia. There is also the return of the Argentine director Jazmin Lopez with her film Si yo fuera el invierno mismo / If I Were the Winter Itself, with the direction of photography by the Portuguese cinematographer Rui Poças.

In the short films competition, the French Tendre, by Isabel Pagliai, can be highlighted, as well as a group of young authors, such as Adinah Dancygerou (Moving), Déjeuner sur l’herbe, by Jocelyn Charles, Jules Bourges, Nathan Harbonn Viaud and Pierre Rougemont, or Os Últimos Românticos do Mundo, by Henrique Arruda, which had its world premiere at the last Tiradentes festival in 2020 and is yet another strong highlight for this festival.

The Silvestre section of IndieLisboa finds its standard in the singularity. We show, under the wing Silvestre, works that reject established formulas and awaken new languages. In addition to the 22 short films selected, the 17 feature films this year show the latest works by renowned authors, such as Bruno Dumont, Sergei Loznitsa, Radu Jude, Tsai Ming-Liang along with new voices such as Monia Chokri, Camilo Restrepo, or the collective The Living and the Dead Ensemble, among others.

The full program for IndieLisboa 2020 will be available at the end of July on the official website and app of the festival, where the Portuguese films selected for the National Competition, Brand New, Special Screenings, and also the parallel activities and industry events will be released.

The 17th edition of IndieLisboa – International Film Festival has new dates. It will run from August 25th to September 5th at Cinema São Jorge, Culturgest, Cinema Ideal and at Cinemateca Portuguesa.