If we don't go to Portugal in summer, Portugal comes to us! From 4-8 August, we celebrate Portuguese cinema at Wolf with new films, film talks and matching snacks at our bar.

Together with 'Terratreme' and 'Uma Pedra no Sapato', two important production companies for independent Portuguese film, we present a series of films by promising young directors who have been screened and awarded at renowned festivals worldwide and deserve visibility here as well. Young Portuguese filmmaking is full of ideas, breaks genre boundaries and celebrates the artistic freedom of cinema. And it is extraordinarily female: in addition to the omnibus film New Female Voices (Três Réalisadoras Portuguesas), which brings together three short films by young female directors in one package, we present Amor Fati by Cláudia Varejão and Jack's Ride (No Táxi do Jack) by Susana Nobre, which premiered at the Berlinale Forum 2021. Varejão's multi-award-winning film Ama-San and Nobre's Ordinay Time (Tempo comum) were both part of our first distribution collaboration with 'Terratreme'. Maria Clara Escobar's impressively stylish debut film Desterro, which had its world premiere at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, is a Brazilian-Portuguese co-production. And finally, we will be screening the playful documentary A Pleasure, Comrades! (Prazer, camaradas!) by José Filipe Costa, which has its protagonists reconstruct and re-enact their experiences in socio-political cooperatives in Portugal in the 1970s.

Summer break special: students pay a reduced fee of 4 € per screening.

Thursday 4 August, 6:30 pm: Amor Fati

Direction: Cláudia Varejão

Portugal / France / Switzerland 2020,102 Min, Portuguese with English subtitles

Two twin sisters, a master and his dog, lovers who look like each other...all doubles are possible in the simultaneously poetic and hyper-realistic universe of Cláudia Varejão. Here, love comes in all shapes and sizes, building a choreography of visual resemblances, while also questioning what makes a couple in the contemporary world.

Friday 5 August, 6:30 pm: Jack's Ride & Portuguese Bites

Direction: Susana Nobre

Portugal 2021, 70', 16mm, Portuguese with English subtitles

Joaquim is at the end of his working life. According to a deal made with his employer, he will be able to retire after a brief period of unemployment. But first he has to submit a few token job applications to prove that he has tried to find work. His tour takes him to industrial areas in the Portuguese countryside where factories stand idle. There is little work, but everyone needs some sort of employment, provided by government programmes if necessary. It is from here that Joaquim set out in the 70s to try his luck in New York, where he worked as a chauffeur and cab driver and saw the world. New York as a rear projection and autobiographical reference point forms an important theme in the film, which plays beautifully with the boundary between reality and fiction. Joaquim has style and an air of urbanity. Always well-groomed and wearing a flamboyant patterned shirt, he’s reminiscent of American television stars from the 70s when he drives around in his Mercedes Elegance, not least due to the 4:3 aspect ratio. He has played a lot of roles in his life: worker, immigrant, husband and friend. How will he do as a pensioner? It would be a pleasure to hear from him every now and then.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director via Zoom and a selection of small portuguese bites in our bar. Tickets are 9 € ( 8 € reduced fee, 4 € student ticket) , a small platter of tapas can be purchased for 6 €.

Saturday 6 August, 6:30 pm: A Pleasure, Comrades!

as well as on August 4,5,7,8 & 9 with German subtitles.

Direction: José Filipe Costa

Portugal 2019, 105', Portuguese with English subtitles

1975, rural Portugal. In the wake of the Carnation Revolution, the country and its people are re-organising themselves in a collective effort that sparks the interest of foreigners and expats who share the ideals of the revolution. They volunteer at the recently formed co-ops, offering literacy, health and sex education. Drawing from the testimonies of those who lived it, A Pleasure, Comrades! travels in time to give centre stage to an older generation that bravely and joyfully re-enacts the social and sexual interactions and discussions of a time when women were still embarrassed to be naked in front of their husbands. Eight years after his previous feature Red Line, José Filipe Costa surprises with a comical and charming delight of storytelling inventiveness. Long live the proletariat, long live the sexual revolution!

The screening on Sat 6 August will be followed by a discussion with the director via Zoom

Sunday 7 August, 6 pm: Desterro

Direction: Maria Clara Escobar

Portugal / Brazil / Argentina 2020, 127', Portuguese and Spanish with English subtitles

We follow the life of Brazilian couple Laura and Israël, who are in their mid-thirties and have a five-year-old son, Lucas. They live together, but seem to have lost interest in one another's thoughts and cares. Their relationship seems headed for the rocks, and the only one who seems to still be looking for something from life is Lucas. Laura feels the warning signs of impending catastrophe. Then she disappears, and some time later Israël learns that Laura is dead, her body in Argentina. He doesn't tell anyone – not even their son. As they were not married and have no savings, Israël faces the practical problems of bringing Laura's body home. The last part of the film flashes back to Laura's bus journey south and her encounters along the way with other (female) passengers, and particularly with a man who reminds her of her partner.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director via Zoom

Monday 8 August, 7 pm: New Female Voices

Three promising female directors, three short films that have been celebrated at festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Rotterdam, united in one package: PARTY DAY by Sofia Bost, DOGS BARKING AT BIRDS by Leonor Teles and RUBY by Mariana Gaivão stand for exciting, young cinema from Portugal - shot in parts on 16mm.

PARTY DAY (Director Sofia Bost, Portugal 2019, 17', Portuguese with English subtitles, 16mm)
Mena lives alone with her daughter Clara. Today is Clara's seventh birthday. Despite her limited financial means, she manages to organise a birthday party. However, the phone call from her mother throws her off track emotionally. The film shows the difficulties of being a mother, a daughter, a friend and still leading a self-determined life.

DOGS BARKING AT BIRDS (Director Leonor Teles, Portugal 2019, 20',Portuguese with English subtitles, 16mm)
School is out and there is a buzz in the air. In Porto, tourists populate the streets and cafés. Vicente rides his bike through the city and observes the changes that take place day by day. The city is no longer the same, the world is changing and so is he. Surrounded by his family and friends, Vicente eagerly awaits the first days of summer and the beginning of a new life.

RUBY (Director Mariana Gaivão, Portugal 2019, 25',Portuguese with English subtitles )
A hot summer day in a Portuguese village, ending with a farewell party for her best friend who is returning to England, marks the end of Ruby's youth. Ruby is a diamond in the rough, full of energy, which is reflected in the pleasantly relaxed atmosphere of the film and the music by Sonic Youth.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with director Mariana Gaivão via Zoom