Press Release | 09.05.2025 EIGHT PORTUGUESE FILMS FEATURED AT THE 78TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

In Un Certain Regard, Pedro Pinho returns to Cannes with his second fiction feature, "O RISO E A FACA” (I ONLY REST IN THE STORM), eight years after his award-winning debut "A Fábrica de Nada” at the Directors’ Fortnight. The film follows Sérgio, an environmental engineer working with an NGO in West Africa to build a road linking the desert to the jungle. It is produced by Uma Pedra no Sapato and Terratreme Filmes (Portugal), in co-production with Still Moving (France), Bubbles Project (Brazil), and deFilm (Romania).

Also, in Un Certain Regard is included "ERA UMA VEZ EM GAZA” ("ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA”) by Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser. This third feature film is produced by Les Films du Tambour (France), Ukbar Filmes (Portugal), Riva Filmproduktion and Red Balloon (Germany), and Palestine (Made in Palestine Project and Jordan Pioneers).

On 18^th May, the world premiere of "MAGALHÃES” (MAGELLAN) by Filipino director Lav Diaz will take place at Salle Debussy, under Cannes Première. In a co-production involving Rosa Filmes (Portugal) and partners from Spain, the Philippines, Germany, Taiwan and France, this historical epic revisits the voyage of the Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães (1480–1521), who died in the Philippines.

Three short films compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or:

"A SOLIDÃO DOS LAGARTOS” (THE LONELINESS OF LIZARDS), by Inês Nunes, co-produced with Maura Carneiro with associate production from Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola. The film is a contemplation of the region where the director grew up, the Algarve, a place shaped by tourism and by the constant tension between the real and the artificial.

Also returning to Cannes is Gabriel Abrantes, competing with "ARGUMENTOS A FAVOR DO AMOR” (ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF LOVE). The Portuguese filmmaker, born in the United States, was awarded the Grand Prize at the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes in 2018 for his film "Diamantino”, co-directed with Daniel Schmidt. "Arguments in Favor of Love” explores couple’s arguments, taken from life, embodied by ghosts.

"FILLE DE L’EAU” (WATERGIRL), by Sandra Desmazières, a co-production involving the Portuguese Animais AVPL with Caïmans Productions and Valk Productions. "Fille de l’eau” ("Watergirl”) is an animation set in the memories of Mia, who spent her whole life freediving, fishing and gliding through seaweed and rocks. Time has passed, tracing its lines on her body and shaping the landscapes around her. Loved ones have vanished. Tonight, Mia remembers.

In the competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival dedicated to film schools, La Cinef, Portugal is represented by a short film animated in 2D and mixed media, exploring the daily struggles of mental health and its manifestations in the physical body, "O PÁSSARO DE DENTRO” ("THE BIRD FROM WITHIN”), directed by Laura Anahory. The film was produced as part of the MA in Sound and Image at the School of Arts of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto.

Among the films selected for ACID Cannes – a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival organized by the Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema (ACID) – stands out "ENTRONCAMENTO”, the second feature film by Portuguese director Pedro Cabeleira, produced by OPTEC Filmes and Kometa Films. This fiction story tells the story of Laura, who, fleeing a turbulent past, takes refuge in Entroncamento to rebuild her life.

On May 18^th, Animation Day — a joint initiative of the Marché du Film and the Annecy International Animation Festival — will feature a preview of "ANA, EN PASSANT”, a feature-length animation in development, co-produced by Sardinha em Lata (Portugal) and Apiário (Brazil).

As in previous years, the PORTUGUESE FILM AND AUDIOVISUAL INSTITUTE (ICA) will be present at Cannes to promote Portuguese cinema and audiovisual.

PRESS CONTACT

INSTITUTO DO CINEMA E DO AUDIOVISUAL