Indie Movies Around (Indie)Lisbon - Part3: Directors

Besides music festivals, Lisbon also has a lot of film festivals! To all those into filmmaking, especially independent films, IndieLisboa is unmissable. IndieLisboa is an international festival which occurs in the months of April and/or May (April 26th to May 6th this year). It’s incredibly diverse, dividing it’s presentations by various categories and venues. It has works of young indie directors on the big screens of Culturgest and retrospectives of established directors shown on the intimate screen of Cinemateca (without missing the ocasional party in-between).

The Importance of the Director

IndieLisboa, dedicates its schedule to one of the most important factors of filmmaking: the Director! Either by making retrospectives of great Indie directors, (this year Lucrecia Martel and Jacques Rozier), in a category aptly named Independent Hero, or by dedicating a whole category on films about filmmaking, Director’s Cut.

Official animation for Director's Cut, done by Fine Arts (Lisbon) student Catarina Pinheiro.

Suggested Viewing - Lucrecia Martel

Lucrecia Martel is the most influential director in Argentina, and one of the most influential worldwide. Her films are open to all kinds of experiences but are still very precise on the themes she wants to touch: racism, prejudice and the gap between the classes. IndieLisboa selected some excellent works: La Ciénaga, a film about a crumbling family drowning in alcohol and discrimination; The Holy Girl, that targets the extreme religious presence in Latin America and its influence in children; The Headless Woman, where the director moves towards thriller and surrealism; Zama, Martel’s latest effort and a clear statement about the treatment of the indigenous people of South America. (All these will be preceded by short films). April 29th (4.30pm), Lucrecia Martel will be talking in Culturgest.

Zama, by Lucrecia Martel (2017)

Suggested Viewing - Jacques Rozier

Jacques Rozier is an interesting director and a key filmmaker in Europe, having important work for the french nouvelle vague. Rozier’s films understand cinema and have the free spirit of a true Independent Hero, yet they are plagued with production problems and long pauses between them. IndieLisboa brought a whole lot of his work to share with its audience, like: Adieu Philippine, his most known film, a beautiful portrait of France in the 60’s; Du Côté D’Orouët, about youth, summer and youthful summer feelings; Les Naufragés de l’Île de la Tortue, where Rozier jokes with the ideia of being lost on a desert island as a vacation. IndieLisboa will also show very important shorts and other films made by Rozier, like Jean Vigo is a documentary for the famous TV series Cinéastes de Notre Temps (from Janine Bazin and André Labarthe). April 30th (6.30pm), Jacques Rozier will be talking in Cinemateca.

Cinéastes de Notre Temps: Jean Vigo, by Jacques Rozier (1964)

Suggested Viewing - Director's Cut (in Context)

Director’s Cut is a testament to how filmmakers influence other filmmakers, how cinema is a language that never dies, it only passes on. IndieLisboa also has sessions called Director’s Cut in Context, where some of the movies that influenced the ones shown in this category are also projected, like: Grey Gardens (Maysles Brothers, USA), a film about the Edie and Edith Beale, two sisters that live in an old mansion, but still keep their heads high and glamorous. The film That Summer (Göran Hugo Olssom, Sweden) recounts the first attempt the Maysles brothers did of filming the infamous sisters but never finished. Göran Olssom uses these never before seen shots and adds others by Andy Warhol and John Mekas to further understand the Beale sisters’ “decrepit chic” life. Important mention: Light Years (Manuel Abramovich, Argentina, Brazil and Spain), dedicated to Lucrecia Martel’s return to direct her latest feature film, Zama.

That Summer, by Göran Hugo Olsson (2018)

These are just some of the amazing works you can see in IndieLisboa! They are spread all around Lisbon in different cinemas and some even play multiple times during the festival, so be sure to check the calendar and enjoy this indie experience!

Here are some other venues where the festival takes place:

Official animation for the Festival, done by Fine Arts (Lisbon) student and Itinari editor Vasco Casula.