Viagem a Portugal: contemporary Portuguese cinema from the Austin Film Society

5 Apr 2010

From April 13 through May 11, 2010, the Austin Film Society will show a series of six films from Portugal.

From the AFS website:

Mention “Portuguese cinema” and the first and possibly only response is Manoel de Oliveira, who, at age 101 is still making films. Naturally this series will include three of his wonderful films, but there are younger directors who are also making an impact in international film festivals. Besides de Oliveira’s thought-provoking excursions into memory and loss, we will show three films which examine a family’s political past in a time or turmoil, life in rural Portugal mixed with the difficulties of making a film, and the intrusion of the Russian mafia into the lives of ordinary Portuguese. – Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society

All showings are at the Alamo South Lamar (1120 S Lamar, Austin, TX 78704). Admission is free for AFS members or $6 for the general public.

VOYAGE TO THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo)
Tues 13 April, 7:00pm
An elderly filmmaker (Mastrooianni) and his middle-aged leading actor, Afonso, travel to Portugal with friends. They see a world and way of life that are rapidly disappearing elsewhere. Shown with PORTO DA MINHA INFANCIA (Oporto of My Childhood)
Tickets and more info

ÁGUAS MIL (April Showers)
Tues 20 April, 7:00pm
Preparing the family house for sale, Pedro discovers some old papers and photos that send him on a road trip to try to discover reasons for his father’s disappearance during political upheavals in Portugal.
Tickets and more info

OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto)
(A co-presentation with Cine Las Americas Film Festival 2010)
Tues 27 April, 7:00pm
Both documentary and fictional narrative, Gomes’s energetic and courageous film captures so many vignettes of life in rural Portugal.
Tickets and more info

NOITE ESCURA (In the Darkness of the Night)
Tues 4 May, 7:00pm
A man has gotten too heavily into debt and is given only one way out: hand one of his daughters over to work as a prostitute for the mob. The girl’s mother and sister would like to prevent her prostitution, but they are helpless in this patriarchal society.
Tickets and more info

A TALKING PICTURE (Um filme falado)
Tues 11 May, 7:00pm
A history professor takes her 7-year-old daughter on a Mediterranean cruise as a prelude to their trip to Bombay.
Tickets and more info