21/04/2005 - In The Darkness of the Night and André Valente, two titles produced by Madragoa Films, Paulo Branco's Portuguese production company, have recently been awarded both nationally and internationally

In The Darkness of the Night and André Valente, two titles produced by Madragoa Films, Paulo Branco's Portuguese production company, have recently been awarded both nationally and internationally.
In The Darkness of the Night by João Canijo won the Golden Globe for best film in the ceremony organised each year by TV broadcaster SIC and "Caras" Magazine. The film, that premiered last year in the Cannes Film Festival ("Un Certain Regard") was competing against O Milagre Segundo Salomé by Mário Barroso, André Valente [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catarina Ruivo
interview: Paulo Branco
film profile] by Catarina Ruivo and The Murmuring Coast by Margarida Cardoso.

The film, a dark family tale starring Rita Blanco, Fernando Luís and Beatriz Batarda, is the fifth title in the career of the 48 year old director, a former assistant of Manoel de Oliveira (The Fifth Empire). He previously directed Three Less Me (1987), Her Mother's Daughter (1990), Black Shoes (1998) and Get a Life (2001), that also screened out of competition in the Cannes Film Festival. Canijo's films are usually violent dramas where characters, frequently members of dysfunctional families, are exposed to borderline situations. The intensive performances of the actresses he usually works with (Canijo and Rita Blanco have a seminal collaboration for years) have been many times acclaimed by the critics. This time, it was Beatriz Batarda who got the Golden Globe for best actress.
In The Darkness of the Night did also make a splash in the Festival Paths of the Portuguese Cinema (Caminhos do Cinema Português), that takes place in Coimbra. It was considered the best Portuguese film by the Official Jury and it also received the Press Award.

André Valente, the first feature film by Catarina Ruivo, that also competed in the categories of best film, best actor (Leonardo Viveiros) and best actress (Rita Durão) in the Portuguese Golden Globes, has just won the best director and best film awards in the Infinity Festival of Turin.