Cinema do Alentejo
One of the first fiction films shot in the Alentejo is said to have been made in the small village of Mora. Pão Nosso (1940), or Our Daily Bread, is a fictional depiction of rural life and the love affairs of an urban couple, after the purchase of a vast plot of Alentejo plains. The village's narrow streets and white churches are the backdrop for this otherwise fairly banal film. In 1965, the Alentejo once again appeared on screen, this time in Manuel Guimarães' Le Bon grain et l'ivraie. The saga of a small farmer working for his daily bread and facing the difficulties of life in spite of everything. And from there, the story of an entire region, where the landscapes of the Baixo Alentejo in black and white create sublime images on Guimarães' film. Subsequently, the number of fiction films shot in Alentejo fell drastically. Animal and social documentaries followed one another in the 1970s and 1980s, with notable films such as Torre Bella (1975), directed by Thomas Harlan and recounting the creation and subsequent failure of a citizens' movement to set up an agricultural cooperative on the unused land of a wealthy landowner, or A Lei da Terra by Solveig Nordlund and Alberto Seixas Santos (1977), a documentary filmed at the heart of agrarian reform, analyzed through the prism of social struggles and the Portuguese workers' movement of the time. In the 1990s, international cinema made its presence felt in Alentejo, while local production remained marginal. The films Adeus Princesa (1992), a journalistic thriller starring future TV star Diogo Infante, and Mortinho Por Chegar A Casa , a romantic comedy by Carlos da Silva and George Sluizer (1996), also starring Diogo Infante and Maria D'Aires, are worth mentioning. In the latter, outside the streets of Lisbon, you can easily recognize the mines of São Domingos, in the Béja region, as well as the small town of Vidigueira, with its white churches and nearby square. Since the 2000s, new filmmakers have moved into the region, bringing different styles with them. Brazilian-born director Sérgio Tréfaut devotes his documentary Alentejo, Alentejo (2014) to the lyrical tradition of cante alentejano, before building Raiva ou Rage (2018). Like some of his predecessors, he centers his narrative on the difficult life of the region's inhabitants under Salazar's regime, filmed between Serpa and Béja. At the same time, Vicente Alves do Ó filmed Al Berto (2017), largely in Sines, setting the story of a poet in the uncertain times following the Carnation Revolution. More recently, Alentejo has been the setting for a TV series, with Pecado (2021), a romantic/thriller series available on Portuguese channel TVI.
Some international appearances
Neither James Bond nor Indiana Jones made a stopover in the Alentejo. In fact, international productions are few and far between, due to the region's poverty during the 20th century. In the 1990s, however, a number of directors did set foot in the region, most notably in Reguengos de Monsaraz for an epic fresco about Christopher Columbus, starring Marlon Brando and Tom Selleck. Unfortunately for John Glen, director of Octopussy, For Your Eyes Only and To Kill Is Not To Play, his film Columbus: The Discovery (1992) received very poor reviews and was nominated in 5 categories for the 1993 Razzie Awards, which recognize the worst Hollywood films of the year. The same applies - to a lesser extent - to 1993's The House of Spirits, starring Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas. This American-European production, adapted from Isabel Allende's novel of the same name, failed to convince audiences despite its impressive cast. On the French-speaking side, several films from this period are also worthy of note. On the one hand, the works L'œil qui ment (1992) and Fado majeur et mineur (1994) by Franco-Chilean filmmaker Raoul Ruiz, both partly shot in Estremoz; on the other, the film Quasimodo d'El Paris (1999) by - and starring - Patrick Timsit, an intriguing and surrealist retelling of Victor Hugo's story, also shot in Estremoz and the nearby vineyard of Quinta do Carmo. An opportunity to spot filming locations while enjoying a local vintage.
Festival Renewal
In a bid to revitalize the region, it joined forces with neighboring Ribatejo to set up its own commission to support film productions and events in 2017. It's an opportunity to showcase the Alentejo's sunny landscapes and valleys on screen, and we know the impact that big international productions can have on tourism and the local economy. This support now accompanies both new and existing festivals. The oldest of these is undoubtedly FIKE, the Évora Short Film Festival, which promotes short films in all their forms. After its cancellation in 2023 due to lack of funding, film fans are hoping for its return. Another not-to-be-missed event is the Periferias festival (mid-August), a cross-border initiative co-organized by the town of Marvão, famous for its fortifications, and the neighboring Spanish city of Valencia de Alcántara. On giant screens and in the open air, this is the best way to enjoy cinema at this time of year.
