The Cinemateca has announced that this film cycle will extend until 2026, emerging from “continued efforts in research, conservation, and digitization, developed over recent years.”
The Cinemateca’s November program aims to “question the origins of so-called experimental cinema made in Portugal” by visual artists who utilized filmmaking as an extension of their artistic endeavors.
The collection presented by Cinemateca Portuguesa features a “free cinema, often linked to the personal lives of those who created it with their small cameras, a cinema that is documentary or diaristic, with varying levels of narrative.”
“These works capture meetings between friends, clearly emphasizing the importance of the art/life relationship, document exhibitions or performances,” it illustrated.
In a “comprehensive program,” the cycle titled “Portuguese Experimental Cinema: The Cinema of Artists, 60s and 70s” begins next Wednesday, November 5, featuring short films by visual artist Carlos Calvet (1928-2014), made in 8mm and Super8, including ‘Momentos na vida do poeta’ (1964), which focuses on Mário Cesariny.
Additional sessions will feature films by Ana Hatherly (1929-2015), such as ‘Revolução’ (1975), depicting the post-April 25, 1974, street murals and graffiti in Lisbon; and works by Julião Sarmento (1948-2021), Lourdes Castro (1930-2022), Noronha da Costa (1942-2020), António Palolo (1946-2000), and Helena Almeida (1934-2018).
On November 19, visual artist and poet Silvestre Pestana (1949), noted for his “profoundly avant-garde approach in 1970s and 1980s Portugal,” will attend the Cinemateca Portuguesa to present a session dedicated to his work.
“Since the late 1960s, Pestana has created a distinctive body of work across various disciplines, using video as a direct medium for poetic practice and performative action, as evidenced by video-poem-performances and his continued creations utilizing other technologies,” emphasizes the Cinemateca.
Details of the entire cycle’s program can be found on the official Cinemateca Portuguesa website.
