The 14th edition of the Portuguese Film Academy’s Sophia Awards was held last Sunday, in Casino do Estoril, in Cascais. Grand Tour [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio P…
intervista: Miguel Gomes
scheda film], a film directed by Miguel Gomes and majority produced by Uma Pedra no Sapato (which had its world premiere in last year’s Cannes competition), won three Sophia Awards: Best Film, Best Directing and Best Editing (for Telmo Churro and Pedro Filipe Marques). Producer Filipa Reis picked up the awards, as Gomes is currently in Brazil developing his new project. As LUSA reports, on stage, besides the thank-you notes written by Miguel Gomes, read out by Filipa Reis, in which the director came out in defence of Portuguese cinema, several requests were shared by the producer: in general, she pressed for the financial support systems for the sector to be reinforced, urged the national public broadcaster RTP not to give up on Portuguese cinema and asked the next elected government not to disregard the importance of the Tourism Fund (“So that foreigners can film our landscapes, but also so that our films can take what is done here to the rest of the world”), amongst other pleas.

Grand Tour was the most-nominated film coming into the ceremony, with 11 nods, followed by Rodrigo Areias’ The Worst Man in London [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which had its world premiere in the Big Screen Competition at last year’s IFFR. Out of ten nominations, The Worst Man in London won four gongs: Best Costume Design (Susana Abreu), Best Art Direction (Ricardo Preto), Best Make-up and Hair (Bárbara Brandão and Natália Bogalho) and Best Lead Actor (Albano Jerónimo).

The Lead Actress Award went to Rita Cabaço for her performance in Jeanne Waltz’s The Fortunate Ones [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. In the Best Supporting Roles categories, Teresa Madruga (O teu rosto será o último) and João Arrais (Blood'less' Revolution) came out on top.

The Buriti Flower [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Salaviza e Renée Nade…
scheda film], the 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard entry directed by João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora, received two awards during the ceremony: Best Original Screenplay (João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora, Francisco Hyjnõ Krahô, Ilda Patpro Krahô and Henrique Ihjãc Krahô) and Best Sound (Diogo Goltara, Pablo Lamar and Ariel Henrique). Also winning two awards was UBU, directed by Paulo Abreu, which took home Best Adapted Screenplay (Paulo Abreu and André Gil Mata, from Alfred Jarry’s play) and Best Cinematography (Jorge Quintela). In the Best Documentary category, Sofia Marques’ Verdade ou Consequência won the award. The horror flick Amelia’s Children, Gabriel Abrantes’ solo follow-up to the Cannes hit Diamantino [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel S…
scheda film], was among the winners, too, in the Best Special Effects category (for Rita Anjos, Dave Bonneywell, José André, Luís Martins and Ivo Francisco).

Lastly, two movies selected in the 2023 Locarno competition were also among the winners: Manga D’Terra [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Basil Da Cunha
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intervista: Leonor Teles
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On the occasion of the 14th Sophia Awards, producer Paulo Branco (also the producer of the most-awarded film of the night) received the Sophia Career Award: this was one of the previously announced prizes, as was, for example, the Best European Film Award for The Zone of Interest [+leggi anche:
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scheda film].

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Film
Grand Tour [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio P…
intervista: Miguel Gomes
scheda film] - Miguel Gomes (Portugal/Italy/France/Germany/Japan/China)

Best Director
Miguel Gomes - Grand Tour

Best Lead Actor
Albano Jerónimo - The Worst Man in London [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Portugal)

Best Lead Actress
Rita Cabaço - The Fortunate Ones [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Portugal/Switzerland)

Best Supporting Actor
João Arrais - Blood’less’ Revolution (Portugal)

Best Supporting Actress
Teresa Madruga - O teu rosto será o último (Portugal)

Best Original Screenplay
João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora, Francisco Hyjnõ Krahô, Ilda Patpro Krahô, Henrique Ihjãc Krahô - The Buriti Flower [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Salaviza e Renée Nade…
scheda film] (Portugal/Brazil)

Best Adapted Screenplay
UBU - Paulo Abreu, André Gil Mata (Portugal)

Best Cinematography
Jorge Quintela - UBU

Best Editing
Telmo Churro, Pedro Filipe Marques - Grand Tour

Best Sound
Diogo Goltara, Pablo Lamar, Ariel Henrique - The Buriti Flower

Best Original Score
Carolina Miragaia, Joana Niza Braga - Baan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Leonor Teles
scheda film] (Portugal)

Best Original Song
“Manga D’ Terra”, Luís Firmino, Eliana Rosa - Manga D’Terra [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Basil Da Cunha
scheda film] (Switzerland/Portugal)

Best Art Direction
Ricardo Preto - The Worst Man in London

Best Costume Design
Susana Abreu - The Worst Man in London

Best Make-up and Hair
Bárbara Brandão, Natália Bogalho - The Worst Man in London

Best Special Effects
Rita Anjos, Dave Bonneywell, José André, Luís Martins, Ivo Francisco - Amelia’s Children (Portugal)

Best Documentary
Verdade ou Consequência - Sofia Marques (Portugal)

Best Series/TV Film
Matilha - João Maia (Portugal)

Best European Film
The Zone of Interest [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Jonathan Glazer (UK/Poland/USA)

Best Fiction Short
À medida que fomos recuperando a mãe - Gonçalo Waddington (Portugal)

Best Documentary Short
Kora - Cláudia Varejão (Portugal)

Best Animation Short
Percebes - Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves (France/Portugal)

Sophia Student Award
Rogéria - Salvador Gil (Portugal)

Sophia Career Award
Paulo Branco