During the award ceremony, the jury described ‘Fuck the Polis’ as “a free-spirited journey through and beyond what we call Europe, and a powerful, witty questioning of the idea of nation and civilization.”
‘Fuck the Polis’ also shares its title with a poetry book by João Miguel Fernandes Jorge and a piece of graffiti found on an Athens street, with the screenplay by Rita Azevedo Gomes and Regina Guimarães, and production by the director herself.
The synopsis states: “Twenty years ago, Irma believed herself to be doomed and traveled to Greece. Today, she returns, accompanied by three young people who read, listen, and live, driven by the taste for beauty and clarity, traveling from island to island, between the sea and the sky.”
Rita Azevedo Gomes filmed in Greece with a small team, “driven by the beauty and joy of spending time together (…) with cameras and recorders passing from hand to hand, from island to island, by boat and car,” as described by the festival.
The film features Bingham Bryant, Mauro Soares, João Sarantopoulos, Maria Novo, Rita Azevedo Gomes, Loukianos Moshonas, and Maria Farantouri.
At 72, with a background in fine arts, Rita Azevedo Gomes has been involved in cinema since the 1970s in various roles, ranging from assistant director to costume designer.
She debuted as a director in 1990 with ‘O som da terra a tremer’ and later created works such as ‘Frágil como o mundo’ (2001), ‘A vingança de uma mulher’ (2012), ‘A portuguesa’ (2018), and ‘Trio em Mi Bemol’ (2022).
In 2023, she received a career award at the Bilbao Documentary and Short Film Festival (Zinebi) in Spain, marking one of the latest honors in her cinematic journey.
In addition to ‘Fuck the Polis’, the Marseille Film Festival also awarded ‘Morte e Vida Madalena’ (Brazil), by Brazilian director Guto Parente, which was co-produced with Portugal.
The 36th FIDMarseille program featured additional Portuguese films, including ‘Bulakna’ by Leonor Noivo, ‘Complô’ by João Miller Guerra, and the co-production ‘All Roads Lead to You’ (Ukraine) by artist Jenya Milyukos.
