Seventy films, both shorts and features, are set to screen at the Teatro-Cine de Pombal, with 34 entries from 17 countries competing in the official selection. Nine of these are by Portuguese filmmakers.
The Cineclube de Pombal (CCP), organizer of the HaHaArt Film Fest, notes that the selection reflects the vitality and diversity characterizing contemporary humor, revealing a growing interest in comedy as a fertile field for cinematic creation.
With films in competition and others shown in thematic, children’s, and special sections, the festival presents a comprehensive view of the genre, challenging conventions, provoking laughter, and reflecting on the present through visual and narrative languages that bridge the popular and the experimental, states CCP in a press release.
In its fourth edition, the Pombal festival assumes a dual role of celebration and inquiry, projecting laughter as a starting point to discover new stories, voices, and worlds.
Notable this year is the special section “Midnight madness,” scheduled for late Saturday night, featuring the festival’s most bold, challenging, and disconcerting films, intended for adult audiences.
“A session where the unexpected is the rule, for the bravest of the night,” it promises.
Another highlight is a section dedicated to the Azores. On Sunday afternoon, it presents “a special look at the sub-genre ‘Azoresploitation’—a comedic approach to the Azores and its cultural representations.”
Films by Francisco Lacerda, Emanuel Macedo, and Diogo Lima are shown in Pombal, followed by discussions with the directors.
The program is rounded out with a cine-debate on contemporary comedy, a masterclass dedicated to the genre, films for families and children, and a special Planos session, among other activities.
Opening the HaHaArt, “Magic farm” by Amalia Ulman will be screened on Thursday night, marking its national premiere outside competition. Starring Chloë Sevigny, it blends black humor, social critique, and surrealist tenderness in a modern fable set in a rural universe as absurd as it is recognizable—a film described by CCP as both unsettling and captivating.
For the closing event on Sunday night, the organization has reserved the first feature by Spanish director Enrique Buleo, “Bodegón con fantasmas.” This tragicomedy features “dry humor, kitsch aesthetics, and echoes of post-television magical realism.”
A special session on Monday night will feature the award-winning films.
