Cinema do Alentejo
One of the first fictional films made in the Alentejo is said to have been made in the small town of Mora. Pão Nosso (1940), or Our Daily Bread, is a drama about rural life and the love affairs of an urban couple, after they buy a large plot of plains in the Alentejo. The white streets and churches of the village are the backdrop for this otherwise fairly banal film. In 1965, the Alentejo appeared again on the screen, this time in The Good and the Bad, by Manuel Guimarães. The saga of a small farmer working for his daily bread and facing the difficulties of life despite everything. And from there, the story of an entire region, where the landscapes of Baixo Alentejo in black and white create sublime images on the film of Guimarães. Afterwards, the number of fictions shot in Alentejo is drastically reduced. However, animal and social documentaries followed one another during the 1970s and 1980s, with notable films such as Torre Bella (1975), directed by Thomas Harlan, which tells the story of the creation and then the failure of a citizen's movement to create an agricultural cooperative on the unexploited land of a wealthy owner, a Lei da Terra by Solveig Nordlund and Alberto Seixas Santos (1977), a documentary filmed in the heart of the agrarian reform, analyzed through the prism of social struggles and Portuguese workers' movements of the time. In the 1990's, international cinema invited itself to Alentejo, while local production remained marginal. The films Adeus Princesa (1992), a journalistic thriller with the future TV star Diogo Infante, and Mortinho Por Chegar A Casa , a romantic comedy by Carlos da Silva and George Sluizer (1996), also with Diogo Infante and Maria D'Aires, are worth mentioning. In the latter, one can easily recognize, outside the streets of Lisbon, the mines of São Domingos, in the region of Béja, as well as the small town of Vidigueira, with its white churches and its square not far away. Since the 2000s, new filmmakers have entered the region, bringing with them different styles. Sérgio Tréfaut, a Brazilian-born director, dedicates his documentary Alentejo, Alentejo (2014) to the lyrical tradition of the cante alentejano, before constructing Raiva or Rage (2018). A story that he centers, like some of his predecessors, on the difficult life of the inhabitants of this region under the Salazar regime, shot between Serpa and Beja. In parallel, Vicente Alves do Ó shoots Al Berto (2017) largely in Sines, placing the story of a poet in the period of uncertainty following the Carnation Revolution. More recently, TV series have been invited to the Alentejo, with Pecado (2021), a series between romance and thriller, available on the Portuguese channel TVI.
Some international appearances
Neither James Bond nor Indiana Jones have made a stop in the Alentejo. International productions are actually quite few, due to the poverty of the region during the 20th century. During the 1990s, some directors nevertheless set their camera in the region, including Reguengos de Monsaraz for an epic fresco around the character of Christopher Columbus, with Marlon Brando and Tom Selleck in the cast. Unfortunately for John Glen, director of Octopussy, For Your Eyes Only and To Kill is Not to Play, his film Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) received very bad reviews and was nominated in 5 categories of the 1993 Razzie Awards, the trophies that recognize the worst films of the year in Hollywood. The same is true - to a lesser extent - for the film The House of Spirits, with Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas, released in 1993. This American-European production, adapted from the eponymous novel by Isabel Allende, failed to convince the public despite its impressive cast. On the French side, several films also dated from this period should be noted. On the one hand, the works L'œil qui ment (1992) or Fado majeur et mineur (1994) by the Franco-Chilean filmmaker Raoul Ruiz, both shot in part in Estremoz; on the other hand, the film Quasimodo d'El Paris (1999) by - and starring - Patrick Timsit, an intriguing and surrealistic retelling of Victor Hugo's story, also filmed in Estremoz and in the neighboring vineyard of Quinta do Carmo. An opportunity to see the filming locations while tasting a local wine.
Festival Renewal
With a view to territorial revitalization, the region joined forces with neighboring Ribatejo to found its own commission to support film productions and events in 2017. The opportunity to highlight the landscapes and sunny valleys of the Alentejo on screen, and we know the impact that large international productions can have on tourism and the local economy. Therefore, this support now accompanies new festivals as well as those already in place. Among them, the oldest is undoubtedly FIKE, the short film festival of Évora, which honors short films in all their forms every year in October. For its 18th edition, go to the Garcia de Resende Theater and the Soror Mariana Auditorium, to discover a rich program of international animation, documentaries and short fiction films. Another not-to-be-missed film event is the Periferias festival - in August 2022 - a cross-border initiative, co-organized by the city of Marvão, famous for its fortifications, and the neighboring Spanish city of Valencia de Alcántara. On a giant screen and in the open air, it is the best way to enjoy cinema at this time of the year.
Finally, the young Alentejo Documentary Film Festival is now held in August in Monte da Estrada, in an old elementary school. It is an opportunity to meet international filmmakers who have come to present their films around a brazier, or to take refuge from the heat in the small white building that is currently used as a screening room.
