34° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
WAVES

O ORNITOLOGO

THE ORNITHOLOGIST
by João Pedro Rodrigues
Country: Portugal, France, Brazil
Year: 2016
Duration: 118'


Fernando is an ornithologist who is conducting solitary research on a species of black stork which live along a river in northern Portugal and are in danger of extinction. After being swept away by the rapids, he is saved by a Chinese couple going on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. As he tries to make his way back through a dark, impenetrable forest, he comes upon unforeseen obstacles and unexpected people who put him to the test. An interior metamorphosis will transform Fernando into a new man: inspired, multifaceted and illuminated. [cg]

Biography

film director

João Pedro Rodrigues

João Pedro Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal, 1966) debuted in 1997 with the short film Parabéns!. The feature O Fantasma was in competition in Venice in 2000, and Odete received a special mention in Cannes in 2005. He participated at the 30th Torino Film Festival with the short film Manhã de Santo António, and won the Internazionale.doc section with A Última Vez Que Vi Macau (2012), which he directed with João Rui Guerra da Mata. With the same codirector Rodrigues also directed the short Mahjong (2013), selected at the Festival in Waves section. In 2016 he directed O Ornitólogo, also presented at the TFF after being in competition at the Locarno Film Festival. In 2022 he directed another feature, Fogo-Fátuo, presented at the Quinzaine des réalisateurs in Cannes, before participating again in Locarno with Onde Fica Esta Rua? Ou Sem Antes Nem Depois, also directed with Guerra da Mata.

FILMOGRAFIA

O Pastor (cm, 1988), Esta É a Minha Casa (mm, doc., 1997), Parabéns! (cm, 1997), Viagem à Expo (mm, doc., 1998), O Fantasma (Il fantasma, 2000), Odete (2005), China, China (coregia João Rui Guerra da Mata, cm, 2007), Morrer Como um Homem (2009), Alvorada Vermelha (coregia João Rui Guerra da Mata, cm, 2011), Manhã de Santo António (cm, 2012), A Última Vez Que Vi Macau (coregia João Rui Guerra da Mata, doc., 2012), O Corpo de Afonso (cm, 2013), Mahjong (coregia João Rui Guerra da Mata, cm, 2013), O Ornitólogo (2016), Où en êtes-vous, João Pedro Rodrigues? (cm, doc, 2017), 30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing (cm, 2019), Um Quarto na Cidade (cm, doc, 2021), Fogo-Fátuo (2022), Onde Fica Esta Rua? (coregia João Rui Guerra da Mata, doc, 2022).

Declaration

film director

“The reflection on spirituality, started in my film Morrer Como um Homem and evoked by the journey in A Última Vez Que Vi Macau, led me unquestionably to this new project. O Ornitólogo delves deeper into these contemplations, which take on the form of an initiation journey and an introspective quest.”

Cast

& Credits

regia/director
João Pedro Rodrigues
soggetto, sceneggiatura/story, screenplay
João Pedro Rodrigues, João Rui Guerra da Mata
fotografia/cinematography
Rui Poças
montaggio/film editing
Raphaël Lefèvre
scenografia/production design
João Rui Guerra da Mata
costumi/costume design
Patrícia Dória
musica/music
Séverine Ballon
suono/sound
Nuno Carvalho
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Paul Hamy (Fernando), Xelo Cagiao, João Pedro Rodrigues, Han Wen, Chan Suan, Juliane Elting
produttori/producers
João Figueiras, Diogo Varela Silva, Vincent Wang, Antoine Barraud, Gustavo Ángel, Alex García, Maria Fernanda Scardino
produzione/production
Blackmaria, House on Fire, Ítaca Filmes
coproduzione/coproduction
Le Fresnoy


contatti/contacts
Films Boutique
Giorgia Hueisse
giorgia@filmsboutique.com
www.filmsboutique.com
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