Oscar-nominated film features at 7th Portuguese Cinema Showcase

Starting today, the 7th Portuguese Cinema Showcase presents some of the most internationally acclaimed Portuguese films of the last three years to Macau.

Curated by Margarida Moz, director of Portugal Film –  the International Portuguese Film Agency –  the showcase offers five sessions featuring both short- and feature-length films from June 20–22.

Held at the Casa Garden Auditorium of the Fundação Oriente–Macau–China Delegation, the event is part of the “June, Month of Portugal in the Macau SAR 2025,” commemorating the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities.

“This showcase is not only about showing Portuguese films around the world, but also making the language of national cinematography and its agents known,” Moz told the Times.

The opening feature, Greice, a Portuguese-Brazilian co-production, screens tonight at 7 p.m. The film follows a Brazilian student navigating life in Lisbon. Moz describes the film, directed by Leonardo Mouramateus, as “a comedy with a very nice rhythm, funny and with a Portuguese-Brazilian cast and crew.” Greice has already won multiple awards, including best director at the 2024 IndieLisboa Festival.

Saturday afternoon’s short-film program, “Festivals in Shorts,” begins at 5 p.m. and features several internationally recognized works, including the only Portuguese film ever nominated for an Oscar in the best animated short film category – Ice Merchants by João Gonzalez.

Moz highlighted Ice Merchants’ universal appeal: “It has no dialogue, it’s a story about a father and a son, a very international subject.”

Other shorts include Percebes, an animated documentary by Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves about a traditional Portuguese seafood delicacy. It explores the complex relationship between locals and tourism in the Algarve.

“The film has won around 18 international awards and has been selected by over 130 festivals worldwide,” Moz added.

One of the more anticipated shorts is Atom & Void by Gonçalo Almeida – a science-fiction film featuring a real spider. Moz told the Times, “It just won an award in Tokyo last week (at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2025). It’s actually going to premiere here [in Macau] before it even premieres in Portugal in July.”

Saturday evening at 7 p.m. features We’re On Air, a dark comedy by Diogo Costa Amarante. Set in Porto, the film explores loneliness and family ties through the story of a mother, son, and grandmother. Moz praised its poetic realism, calling it “a funny but tragic story about loneliness and family ties, very real and poetic.”

Sunday afternoon’s documentary Savana and the Mountain by Paulo Carneiro focuses on a northern Portuguese community’s fight against lithium mining. Moz explained the film’s thematic depth: “It’s about the struggle to preserve a way of life in a rural landscape, the tension between ecological progress and local traditions.” The film premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.

Sunday evening closes with Sempre by Luciana Fina, a documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution. Utilizing archival footage from the 1970s Portuguese television archives, the film offers a visually powerful narrative without talking heads.

Moz noted, “It’s not very biased, more about people’s expectations of the revolution than what came next,” adding that it carries a nostalgic quality connecting past and present social movements.

Emerging trends in Portuguese cinema
Moz highlighted that contemporary Portuguese cinema is marked by diversity and a growing presence of humor, contrasting with its traditionally dramatic tone.

“Portuguese films tend to be a bit more raw, stripped to their core, focusing on storytelling rather than big budgets or visual effects. This makes them more relatable and emotionally connected to audiences,” she said.

The film curator also emphasized the international appeal of Portuguese films, stating, “Portuguese films are selected in major international festivals because they are strong storytellers with meaningful, well-written narratives that connect with universal human experiences.”

All films in the showcase will be subtitled in Chinese and English.