06/04/2017 - The director’s new film is based on Fernão Mendes Pinto’s travel diaries, written in the 16th century

The second phase of the shoot for João Botelho’s new feature, Peregrinação [+see also:
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film profile], kicks off in Sintra on Monday 10 April. Based on the 16^th-century book by Fernão Mendes Pinto – which was published 31 years after the death of its author – the film will focus on Mendes Pinto’s journeys to the Orient and his views on the not-so-heroic actions of Portuguese navigators, besides including several imaginary scenes revolving around the twilight years of the author.

The first phase of the shoot took place in August and September 2016 in several countries in the Far East (China, Macao, Japan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia), with a small crew recording the external locations. After Sintra, the second phase will take the local cast and crew to other Portuguese locations, from north to south, such as Vila do Conde, Carrasqueira, Lisbon, Tomar, Torres Novas and Almada.

“This will be an adventure film with a lot of special effects, particularly in the scenes revisiting the pirate genre. We will also use chroma key so that the boats built in the studio will be placed against the background of the marvellous landscapes that Fernão Mendes Pinto described,” stated producer Alexandre Oliveira, who has been Botelho’s regular producer since the indie hit The Maias – Story of a Portuguese Family [+see also:
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film profile] (2014).

Cláudio da Silva, who previously played the lead in Botelho’s Disquiet (2010), is taking on the main role of Fernão Mendes Pinto. The supporting cast members include Cassiano Carneiro, Pedro Inês, Catarina Wallenstein, Maya Booth, Rui Morisson, Jani Zhao, Zia Soares and members of the Chinese, Japanese and East Timor communities in Lisbon. DoPs João Ribeiro (Letters from War [+see also:
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Q&A: Ivo M Ferreira
film profile]) and Luís Branquinho (Florbela [+see also:
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film profile]) are also attached to the project, respectively for the first and second phases of the shoot.

Peregrinação is an Ar de Filmes production, supported by the ICA and local broadcaster RTP. Its theatrical distribution is slated for late 2017.