“Portugal is represented at the Anthropological Film Showcase of the WAU 2025 World Congress in Antigua, Guatemala, with three films selected from 779 international entries: ‘O Diabo do Entrudo’ (Diogo Varela Silva), the only Portuguese feature film, and the short films ‘O Avental’ (Ana Sara Daniel) and ‘A Morte de uma Montanha’ (Nuno Escudeiro)”, announced the Portuguese film production company Hot Chilli Films in a statement to newsrooms.
The feature film ‘O Diabo do Entrudo’ delves into the ancient tradition of the Lazarim Carnival and “through the masked figure of the Devil” explores the “ritual, collective identity, and cultural memory, offering an aesthetic and anthropological look at Portuguese intangible heritage.”
The short films ‘O Avental’ and ‘A Morte de uma Montanha’ “complete the Portuguese representation, reaffirming the strength of national production in the international panorama of anthropological cinema,” the production company highlights.
The selection process was conducted by an international committee, “composed of experts from Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, United States, Bolivia, Colombia, Russia, Japan, and India.”
Out of the 779 applications received, 28 productions were chosen, which will be screened in person in Antigua.
“The program includes 11 feature films and 17 short films from countries such as Portugal, Brazil, Indonesia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Gabon, Italy, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Iran, Argentina, Togo, Costa Rica, Turkey, China, Germany, and Switzerland”, adds the same note.
According to the production company, the World Congress of the World Anthropological Union (WAU) is “the largest and most important international meeting of anthropologists,” with the showcase being “an international, cinematic, and anthropological event, non-competitive in nature, aimed at disseminating and discussing contemporary audiovisual productions of significant anthropological relevance.”
