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PRODUCTION Portugal

New movies by Gomes, Nicolau and Salaviza among the most eagerly anticipated titles of 2015

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- Arabian Nights, John From and A Montanha could be granted a place at international festivals ahead of their Portuguese premieres

New movies by Gomes, Nicolau and Salaviza among the most eagerly anticipated titles of 2015
Miguel Gomes' trilogy Arabian Nights (© Patrick Mendes)

Following the release of 39 national productions in 2014, a whole new raft of Portuguese films will soon be ready to hit screens and try their luck at the international festivals. We take a look at some of the potentially most interesting national titles set to come out this year, although as yet, virtually none of them have a specific release date.

O Som e a Fúria, one of the most prominent production companies of the last few years, has two feature films in post-production. The first of these, Arabian Nights, by Miguel Gomes, is an adaptation of the narrative concept of the well-known stories of One Thousand and One Nights, transposing them to a country ravaged by the crisis (read more). Built on a foundation of true stories, compiled by three journalists and then passed through the ever-surprising creative filter of the director of Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile
]
and his screenwriting partners Mariana Ricardo and Telmo Churro, Arabian Nights will be a trilogy lasting over seven hours. The movie, co-produced with Shellac Sud (France), Komplizenfilm (Germany) and BOX Productions (Switzerland), will see The Match Factory acting as its sales agent.

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Also making an appearance in the production outfit's catalogue, and directed by Luís Urbano and Sandro Aguilar, is John From, which sees the return of João Nicolau, following Gambozinos (2013) and The Sword and the Rose [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(2010). Co-produced with France's Shellac Sud, John From tells the story of Rita, a 15-year-old girl who, while on her summer holidays, falls in love with a neighbour who has recently moved into her building. Starring Júlia Palha and Filipe Vargas, the movie was filmed in Lisbon's Telheiras neighbourhood, where the director also set the action of Rapace, his award-winning 2006 short film. Both John From and the first instalment in the Arabian Nights trilogy could easily set their sights on a place in the Cannes selections.

João Salaviza may also be daydreaming about attending the international film gatherings. The 30-year-old director's feature debut, A Montanha [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Salaviza
film profile
]
, is currently in post-production, in the wake of the awards he won at Cannes and Berlin for his shorts Arena (2009) and Rafa (2012). Starring Carloto Cotta, Maria João Pinho and Rodrigo Perdigão, this Filmes do Tejo production tackles the transition from childhood to adulthood, a classic subject that Salaviza already dealt with in Rafa. Another of the aces up the sleeve of the production outfit helmed by Maria João Mayer and François d’Artemare for 2015 is Yvone Kane [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Margarida Cardoso (read the review). Starring Beatriz Batarda and Irene Ravache, this family drama set against a political backdrop will hit Portuguese screens on 26 February.

Meanwhile, Fado Filmes has Cinzento e Negro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
in post-production. The film, shot in the Azores over the summer, reunites director Luís Filipe Rocha and actor Filipe Duarte, eight years after the successful A Outra Margem.

A number of other movies, with wildly differing styles, will also be attempting to secure their place in theatres in 2015. These include Gelo [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Luís and Gonçalo Galvão Telles (Fado Filmes); Others Will Love the Things I Loved [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Manuel Mozos (Rosa Filmes – read more); Lisbon Revisited [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Edgar Pêra (Bando à Parte); Crime, the feature debut by Rui Filipe Torres (Porreiro Pá – read more); A Porta 21 by João Marco (Fury n’Dust); and the remake of the classic comedy The Courtyard of the Ballads [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Leonel Vieira (Stopline Films – read more).

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(Translated from Spanish)

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