Country: Portugal
Year: 2012
Duration: 27'
Not since the great earthquake of 1755 had such high flames been seen in Portugal. On the morning of August 25, 1988, it seems as though time has been turned back two centuries, as flames envelope the buildings in the Chiado quarter, in the upper district of Lisbon. At the other end of the city, far from the fire, Francisco receives an unexpected phone call. His room suddenly seems to burst into flames, too, as memories from the past return to suffocate his life.
Biography
film director
João Rui Guerra da Mata
(Portugal) started working in the movie industry as an actor, screenwriter, and assistant director for Rodrigues. Later he co-directed with Rodrigues China, China, awarded for best short at the Belfort Film Festival. He participated in the 30th Turin Film Festival with the short O Que Arde Cura, again directed with Rodrigues himself, with whom he subsequently shot A Última Vez que Vi Macau, winner for Best Film in the international documentary section at TFF, and the short Mahjong, also presented in Turin. The two directors signed another short, Um Quarto na Cidade (2021), and then Onde Fica Esta Rua?, presented at Locarno. They also collaborated on the screenplay for Fogo-Fátuo (2022), directed by Rodrigues alone.
FILMOGRAFIA
China, China (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, cm, 2007), Alvorada Vermelha (cm, doc, 2011), O Que Arde Cura (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, cm, 2012), A Última Vez Que Vi Macau (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, doc, 2012), Mahjong (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, cm, 2013), IEC Long (cm, doc, 2015), Um Quarto na Cidade (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, cm, doc, 2021), Onde Fica Esta Rua? (coregia João Pedro Rodrigues, doc, 2022).
Declaration
film director
“‘Nothing will ever be as before,’ says Francisco, referring both to the Chiado district’s fire, as well as to the political situation in the country. And furthermore, to the end of his relationship. Regardless of gender, I wanted to talk about human emotions. I was interested in shooting in a movie studio. A male body in an unique décor. A sort of closed concentrational space, where the events of the outside world penetrate through the radio and television. Sound and projected images that blend with the contradictory feelings of the character. A fiction film contaminated by documentary images.”
Cast
& Credits
regia/director
João Rui Guerra da Mata
sceneggiatura/screenplay João Rui Guerra da Mata, João Pedro Rodrigues fotografia/cinematography Rui Poças
montaggio/film editing Mariana Gaivão
scenografia/production design José Pedro Penha
suono/sound Nuno Carvalho
interprete/cast João Pedro Rodrigues
produttore/producer João Figueiras
produzione/production Blackmaria
vendita all’estero/world sales Portuguese Short Film Agency
sceneggiatura/screenplay João Rui Guerra da Mata, João Pedro Rodrigues fotografia/cinematography Rui Poças
montaggio/film editing Mariana Gaivão
scenografia/production design José Pedro Penha
suono/sound Nuno Carvalho
interprete/cast João Pedro Rodrigues
produttore/producer João Figueiras
produzione/production Blackmaria
vendita all’estero/world sales Portuguese Short Film Agency
