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The Cinema of Portugal started with the birth of the medium in the late 19th century. Cinema was introduced in Portugal in 1896 with the screening of foreign films and the first Portuguese film was '' Saída do Pessoal Operário da Fábrica Confiança'', made in the same year. The first movie theater opened in 1904 and the first scripted Portuguese film was '' O Rapto de Uma Actriz'' (1907). The first all-talking
sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...
, '' A Severa'', was made in 1931. Starting in 1933, with '' A Canção de Lisboa'', the Golden Age would last the next two decades, with films such as '' O Pátio das Cantigas'' (1942) and '' A Menina da Rádio'' (1944). '' Aniki-Bóbó'' (1942),
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
's first feature film, marked a milestone, with a realist style predating
Italian neorealism Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...
by a few years. In the 1950s the industry stagnated. The early 1960s saw the birth of the ''Cinema Novo'' (literally "New Cinema") movement, showing realism in film, in the vein of Italian neorealism and the
French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...
, with films like '' Dom Roberto'' (1962) and '' Os Verdes Anos'' (1963). The movement became particularly relevant after the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisb ...
of 1974. In 1989, João César Monteiro's '' Recordações da Casa Amarela'' won the
Silver Lion The Silver Lion ( it, Leone d'argento, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The pri ...
at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
and in 2009, João Salaviza's ''
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
'' won the
Short Film Palme d'Or The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation section in 1998, a common Official Jury awards the Short Film Palme ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. Several other Portuguese films have been in competition for major film awards like the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
and the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
. '' João Sete Sete'' (2006) was the first Portuguese animated feature film. Portuguese cinema is significantly supported by the State, with the government's Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual giving films financial support.


Silent films

Portuguese film history began on 18 June 1896, at the Real Colyseu da Rua da Palma nº 288, in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, when Edwin Rousby presented Robert William Paul's Animatograph, using a Teatrograph projector. This places the debut of film in Portugal around six months after the
Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...
' inaugural presentation in Paris.


The early days

The Portuguese audience was familiar with photographic projection, first from cycloramas,
dioramas A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
and
stereoscopic Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
views and, later, from the
magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a sin ...
, with the projection of transparent photographs through a glass plate then coloured. On 28 December 1894, the German photographer Carlos Eisenlohr opened his "Imperial Exhibition" at the galleries of the Avenida Palace Hotel. He presented a novelty to this already knowledgeable Lisbon audience: the live photograph – shown not through an Edison
Kinetograph The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that would ...
, as announced at the time, but by the Elektrotachyscop or Schnellseher, also called the Electro-Tachiscópio Eisenlohr, an invention by Ottomar Anschutz. The device projected images of actions, of a dog passing by or the galloping of a horse, contained in small disks that produced moving images of extremely short periods. In the beginning of 1895, the tobacco shop Tabacaria Neves presented Edison's
Kinetoscope The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that woul ...
(in fact, a copy of said invention, built in London by Robert William Paul, ordered by the Greek George Georgiades, who presented the machine in Lisbon). Unlike preceding inventions, the Kinestoscope allowed individual viewing and a film made up of 1,380 photographs enabling a 20-second projection of 20 seconds. The machine that was used for movies at the Real Colyseu was not the Lumiére brothers'
Cinematograph Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Ci ...
, but a competitor, the
Theatrograph R. W. Paul presented Britain's second film projector, and the first commercially produced 35mm projector, the Theatrograph, on 20 February 1896. It was first demonstrated at Finsbury Technical College. The use of Paul's Theatrograph in music hal ...
, by Robert W. Paul. The machine projected behind the screen, allowing life-size images to appear for about a minute. The first presentation of it was well-received and in the following months, many of the same machines swirled in the cinemas of Lisbon, vying for the favour of movie audiences. At the Real Colyseu of the Rua da Palma of António Santos Júnior, on 18 June 1896, Edwin Rousby showed films by Robert William Paul's production house, for whom Rousby worked. About a minute in length each, these "animated views" were shot by operators who worked for the British producer: "Parisian balls", "The
Pont Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...
in Paris", "The Train", "The Serpentine Dance", "A Barber and Shoeshine Store in Washington". Rousby then met Manuel Maria da Costa Veiga, a photographer with electrical and mechanical skills, who assisted him in preparing his sessions. Costa Veiga himself began acting as an exhibitor, acquiring a projectoscope from Edison that same year and showing films in Lisbon venues. Robert W. Paul also sent his operator Henry Short to southern Europe, to record the animated views of landscapes for use by the English producing house. Short passed through Portugal, registering several views that, although destined to be shown in London, would be integrated into Rousby's program at his Portuguese sessions in 1897. His success is overwhelming, and he prolonged his stays in Portugal and increased the sessions. However, when Rousby proceeded with his tour to the Teatro-Circo Príncipe Real, in
Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
, the animated photograph also gained a professional who would go on to found Portuguese cinema: Aurélio da Paz dos Reis. From July to August, Rousby presented his films at the Teatro do Príncipe Real (now the Teatro Sá da Bandeira), without achieving, however, the level of success in Lisbon.


The pioneers and the producing houses

Three years after beginning his exhibition business, Costa Veiga purchased a movie camera and made first film, ''Aspectos da Praia de Cascais'' ("Views of the Cascais beach"), with images of King D. Carlos bathing in
Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its marin ...
. He began recording official visits and other relevant national political events. He founded the first Portuguese production house, Portugal Film, headquartered close to his home in Algés. In 1909, Portugália Film, made up of João Freire Correia and Manuel Cardoso, was established in Lisbon, financed by D. Nuno de Almada, and the "Empresa Cinematográfica Ideal," Júlio Costa. Freire Correia, a photographer, bought a projector for the opening of the Salão Ideal ao Loreto in 1904, the first Portuguese cinema. He founded his production company five years later, for which he'd make several films, including ''Batalha de Flores'' ("Battle of Flowers") that garnered vast success. He was also the cinematographer of ''O Rapto de Uma Actriz ''("The kidnapping of an Actress")'','' the first scripted Portuguese film, directed by Lino Ferreira in 1907. Freire Correia directed two documentaries of significant success in 1909: ''A Cavalaria Portuguesa'' ("The Portuguese Cavalry") and the ''O Terramoto de Benavente'' ("The Earthquake of Benavente"). The first already showed some technique of image capturing, displaying the prowess of Portuguese cavalry in such a way to create a sense of danger, however fictitious, to the audience. The earthquake was filmed in April, and shown two days later – a remarkable speed – and 22 copies were exported abroad. He would also be responsible for the production of two versions of ''Os Crimes de Diogo Alves'' ("The Crimes of Diogo Alves"), whose direction he entrusted first to Lino Ferreira in 1909 but that remained incomplete, and a second with João Tavares directing one in 1911. Early notable attempts at sound films include the incomplete ''Grisette'' (1908) directed by Freire Correia used adaptations of the Gaumont method by which he attempted to synchronise image and sound. Portugália also produced the first film adaptation of a literary work: ''Carlota Ângela'' was based in the work of the same name by
Camilo Castelo Branco Camilo Castelo Branco, 1st Viscount of Correia Botelho (; 16 March 1825 – 1 June 1890), was a prolific Portuguese writer of the 19th century, having produced over 260 books (mainly novels, plays and essays). His writing is considered original i ...
and was directed by João Tavares, in 1912. Júlio Costa, partnering with João Almeida, acquired the Salão Ideal from Freire Correia and Nuno Almada in 1908 and started the Empresa Cinematográfica Ideal production and distribution house. Remodelled and appropriately refitted, the Salão Ideal presented a predecessor of the
talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befor ...
, the "Animatógrafo Falado" (Spoken Animatograph), where a group of people read the script and produced sound in synch with the film's projection. The group was made up of volunteer firefighters of Ajuda, of which not only Júlio Costa but also António Silva, the actor of the Portuguese Golden Age comedies, were members. While waiting for the construction of his studio at Rua Marquês Ponte de Lima, Júlio Costa began filming "views". He begins filming features with ''Chantecler Atraiçoado'' ("Chantecler Betrayed") and then with ''Rainha depois de Morta'' ("Queen After Dead"), by Carlos Santos, the first Portuguese film with a historic motif. Júlio Costa's company pioneered grouping, production, distribution and exhibition, together for the first time. The company would halt activity after a suspicious fire. In 1918, Lusitânia Film was founded, a production company with an ambitious outlook, led by Celestino Soares and Luís Reis Santos. They remodelled the old Portugália Film studio, in São Bento, and began filming documentaries. The same year, two short films are made outdoors by Costa Veigam, directed by the young Leitão de Barros: ''Malmequer'' ("Daisy") and ''Mal de Espanha'' ("Evil From Spain"). The shooting of '' O Homem dos Olhos Tortos'' ("The Man with the Twisted Eyes") began, the story based on a Reinaldo Ferreira police serial and directed by Leitão de Barros. However, due to financial pressures, the film was never completed. A well-organized conspiracy would close down the company that intended to film '' A Severa'' as its next production. After the closing of the "cycle of Lisbon", the first Oporto production house was founded, which ensured for some years the continuous production of cinema in the country.


Foreign cinematographers

After founding a production company bearing his name in 1910, the Oporto exhibitor Nunes de Mattos, added Invicta Film to its corporate name two years later. The company filmed current events and documentaries, among them ''O Naufrágio do
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
'' ("The Sinking of the Silurian"), of which 108 copies were shipped to Europe. In November 1917, de Mattos founded the second "Invicta Film, Lda", increasing the number of partners and equity. Henrique Alegria took over
art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...
and they acquired the Quinta da Prelada, in Oporto, where the studios and laboratories of the producer were built. In 1918 they left for Paris, and brought back a technical team from the
Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipmen ...
studios led by Georges Pallu, a director who would author virtually all the feature films of the Oporto producing house. Also in the team were André Lecointe, architect-decorator; Albert Durot, camera operator and Georges and Valentine Coutable – the couple who would be, respectively, the chief lab and chief editor. Durot would later be replaced by Maurice Laumann, also from Pathé. For six years, Invicta Film produced several films and documentaries, enriching the Portuguese film landscape. In 1924, however, the company experienced severe financial distress, leading to the laying off all its personnel and continuing only lab work. They shut down in 1928. Rino Lupo, another milestone of cinematography, showed up on the scene through Pallu, who approved his direction of ''Mulheres da Beira'' ("Women from Beira"), after a tale by Abel Botelho, with photography by Artur Costa de Macedo. Though the financial disagreements and the unfulfilment of deadlines forced his removal from the company, Lupo still directed ''Os Lobos'' ("The Wolves"), another pearl of the Portuguese silent cinema. He directed others, but without the quality of his earlier works. Three other companies are set up in the '20s to fill in the studios gap: Caldevilla Film, Fortuna Film and Pátria Film. These also follow the Portuguese pattern, hiring foreign technicians for their experience in Portuguese productions. Although the directors brought from French production houses were presented as recognised stars in their countries, in fact, they often built their careers without having the claimed background. Raul de Caldevilla founded in 1920 his Caldevilla Film, placing production in Lisbon, at Quinta das Conchas, in Lumiar. Frenchman Maurice Mariaud was the director chosen for the works ''Os Faroleiros'' ("The Lighthouse Men") and ''As Pupilas do Senhor Reitor'' ("The Wards of the Dean"), for the studio's only two productions. The company would shut down due to an acute financial disagreement among its partners. Virgínia de Castro e Almeida, a children's book writer, founded in Lisbon the studio Fortuna Film, and hires a French lawyer, Roger Lion, to direct productions based upon her books. Lion brought along his wife, actress Gil-Clary, Maxudian, and the cameramen Daniel Quintin and Marcel Bizot, and they shoot ''A Sereia de Pedra'' ("The Stone Mermaid") and ''Olhos da Alma'' ("Eyes of the Soul"), the latter shot in Nazaré, in what was its first screen register. Henrique Alegria left Invicta Film in 1922, to found Pátria Film with Raul Lopes Freire. They bought Quinta das Conchas, where Maurice Mariaud directs ''O Fado''. This company too would cease to operate after shooting ''Aventuras de Agapito – Fotografia Comprometedora'' ("Adventures of Agapito – Compromising Photograph"), the fourth film directed by Roger Lion in Portugal.


The new generation

At the end of the twenties, the "young Turks" begin the era of the cinema estates, with the return of Leitão de Barros and the emergence of young António Lopes Ribeiro (who would soon launch
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
), Jorge Brum do Canto, Chianca de Garcia and
Arthur Duarte Arthur Duarte (1895–1982) was a Portuguese actor, screenwriter, production designer and film director. Selected filmography * ''Carmen'' (1926) * '' The Republic of Flappers'' (1928) * '' Because I Love You'' (1928) * '' Ludwig II, King of Ba ...
. Their agenda was to move away from the previous productions, taking inspiration in the aesthetic designs of the French, German and Russian cinemas. Casts also follow this move, bringing to the screen the stars of the Revista, in contrast to the theatre world. Stars such as Eduardo Brazão, Brunilde Júdice, António Pinheiro or Pato Moniz fade, and a new school emerges with the presence of Vasco Santana, António Silva, Maria Matos, Ribeirinho or Maria Olguim. At the same time, the state's relationship with cinema was also to change from the end of the '20s. The installed powers understood these young people dominated the cinema press and influenced the masses with their perspectives and wisely viewed the industry as a privileged means of propaganda for their new regime. António Lopes Ribeiro launched his career benefiting from the 100 meters law. He films ''Uma Batida em Malpique'' ("A huntin Malpique") and ''Bailando ao Sol'' ("Dancing in the Sun") (1928), the latter with photography by Aníbal Contreiras. He later departed with Leitão de Barros in a visit to the main European studios, where he'll meet
Dziga Vertov Dziga Vertov (russian: Дзига Вертов, born David Abelevich Kaufman, russian: Дави́д А́белевич Ка́уфман, and also known as Denis Kaufman; – 12 February 1954) was a Soviet pioneer documentary film and newsre ...
and Eiseinstein. De Barros, who screened at Lopes Ribeiro's home the 9,5 mm film he had made with his brother-in-law in Nazaré, was spurred by the trip and returned to filming with ''Nazaré, Praia de Pescadores'' ("Nazaré, Beach of Fishermen"). Again in Nazaré, de Barros films ''Maria do Mar'' ("Mary of the Sea"), the second
ethnofiction Ethnofiction refers to a subfield of ethnography which produces works that introduces art, in the form of storytelling, "thick descriptions and conversational narratives", and even first-person autobiographical accounts, into peer-reviewed academi ...
in cinema history, and a milestone for up until then bleak Portuguese cinematography aesthetics. He also directed ''Lisboa, Crónica Anedótica'' ("Lisbon, an Anecdotal Chronicle") (1929), where in a series of multiple city scenes, he displays Chaby Pinheiro, repeat stars Adelina Abranches and Alves da Cunha, Nascimento Fernandes, and the unforgettable Vasco Santana and Beatriz Costa. Inspired by Marcel l'Herbier, Jorge Brum do Canto opened with ''A Dança dos Paroxismos'' ("The Dance of the Paroxisms") in 1928, playing the main role with his own script. It opened only to a private audience in 1930, however, to only be seen again in 1984.
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
shot '' Douro, Faina Fluvial'' ("Douro, River Works"), with Lopes Ribeiro persuading him to take it to the V International Critics Congress, where it received the praise of Pirandello. But again it will be Leitão de Barros who leaves an imprint in movie history, with '' A Severa'', based upon the work by
Júlio Dantas Júlio Dantas, GCC (1876 – 1962) was a Portuguese doctor, poet, journalist, politician, diplomat and dramatist. He was born in Lagos and was a prolific writer; he cultivated various literary genres, from poetry to novels and journalis ...
, with the direction of the first Portuguese
talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...
. A new era of Portuguese cinema was about to begin.


Sound films


1930s–1940s

With the beginning of the Estado Novo right-wing dictatorship in 1933, a new genre of film started, based on the comedy and musical genres, famously the "'' comédia à portuguesa''", with the focus on contemporary life and light matters, and the intention of taking the minds of the people from the difficult times faced. 1942 saw the release of '' Aniki-Bóbó'', the first full-length fictional film from Manoel de Oliveira, who would only return to fiction film-making twenty-one years later. It marked a milestone in Portuguese film not only because it differed from the tone most in vogue at the time, as it dealt with social issues, but also because it predated the first Italian neo-realism movies by a few years. The Golden Age, as it is known, began that same year with the release of '' A Canção de Lisboa'', and dominated the country for the next two decades. Other famous titles from this popular era are '' Aldeia da Roupa Branca'' (1938), '' O Pátio das Cantigas'' and '' O Pai Tirano'' (1941), '' O Costa do Castelo'' (1943), '' A Menina da Rádio'' (1944) and '' O Leão da Estrela'' (1947). During this period historic films also emerged as an important genre in the Portuguese industry, as a medium for the state party to develop its nationalist propaganda and conservative values, namely '' As Pupilas do Senhor Reitor'' (1935), ''
Bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...
'' (1936), '' Amor de Perdição'' (1943), '' Inês de Castro'' (1945), '' Camões'' (1946) and '' Frei Luís de Sousa'' (1950). A subgenre of these nationalist films were those related to the culture of
Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...
and the rise to popularity of
Amália Rodrigues Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress. Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...
, the great name of ''Portuguese song''. Some of those films were '' Capas Negras'' and '' Fado, História de Uma Cantadeira'', both from 1947. '' Camões'', directed by José Leitão de Barros, was an official selection at the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 1946.


1950s

The Fifties were mainly years of stagnation with the continuity of the same movies made in the earlier decades, government censorship and glorification of the colonial empire – see '' Chaimite'' (1953); although the first signs of the winds to come were being given by films like '' Saltimbancos'' (1951) and '' Nazaré'' (1952), both directed by Manuel Guimarães and inspired by the Italian neo-realism. In 1958 opens the Portuguese Cinematheque with a retrospective of American movies that inspired the French filmmakers of the Nouvelle Vague, an event lauded by then new critics Alberto Seixas Santos e António Pedro Vasconcelos. In 1959 '' Portuguese Rhapsody'', directed by João Mendes, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1959 Cannes Film Festival The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Orfeu Negro'' by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with '' Les Quatre Cents Coups'', directed by François Truffaut and closed with '' The Diary of ...
.


1960s–1970s

The new decade brought a new generation of films, led by ''Dom Roberto'' (1962), '' Os Verdes Anos'' and ''Pássaros de Asas Cortadas'' (1963). The new phase was named
Cinema Novo Cinema Novo (), "New Cinema" in English, is a genre and movement of film noted for its emphasis on social equality and intellectualism that rose to prominence in Brazil during the 1960s and 1970s.Dixon & Foster, 293. Cinema Novo formed in respon ...
or Novo Cinema (New Cinema), and it refers to Portuguese cinema made between 1963 and the revolution in 1974 by directors such as Fernando Lopes, Paulo Rocha or António da Cunha Telles, amongst others. Like other new waves of the period, the influence of Italian Neo-Realism and the burgeoning ideas of the Nouvelle Vague could be felt keenly. The term ''Novo Cinema'' is now used to avoid confusion with the Brazilian movement of the same name. This movement gains particular relevance after the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisb ...
, pursuing certain experiences of the French New Wave, both in the field of
visual anthropology Visual anthropology is a subfield of social anthropology that is concerned, in part, with the study and production of ethnographic photography, film and, since the mid-1990s, new media. More recently it has been used by historians of science an ...
and of
political cinema Political cinema, in the narrow sense of that portray current or historical events or social conditions through a partisan perspective in order to inform or to agitate the spectator. Political cinema exists in different forms, such as documenta ...
. The generation of the seventies, taking advantage of the new liberties, explores realism and
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
, politics and
ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
, until the late eighties, in conjunction with some directors of the liberated colonies, such as
Flora Gomes Flora Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean film director. He was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau on 31 December 1949 and after high school in Cuba, he decided to study film at the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos in Havana. Shot ...
. Portugal has a notable tradition in the field of
docufiction Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) and ...
and
ethnofiction Ethnofiction refers to a subfield of ethnography which produces works that introduces art, in the form of storytelling, "thick descriptions and conversational narratives", and even first-person autobiographical accounts, into peer-reviewed academi ...
since Leitão de Barros, who was a contemporary of
Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...
. Films during this period also include ''Belarmino'' (1964), ''Domingo à Tarde'' (1965), ''Sete balas para Selma'' (1967) and ''O Cerco'' (1969). In 1973 '' The Vows'', directed by António de Macedo, was in competition for the Grand Prix at the
1973 Cannes Film Festival The 26th Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 25 May 1973. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to '' Scarecrow'' by Jerry Schatzberg and '' The Hireling'' by Alan Bridges. At this festival two new non-competitive sections w ...
.


1980s

'' A Ilha dos Amores'', directed by Paulo Rocha, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1982 Cannes Film Festival The 35th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 26 May 1982. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to ''Missing'' by Costa Gavras and ''Yol'' by Şerif Gören and Yılmaz Güney. The festival opened with the 1916 film ''Intolerance'', directed b ...
. Other accolades from this period include, in 1985
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
winning an Honorary
Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
; '' O Bobo'', directed by José Álvaro Morais, winning the
Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to b ...
at the 1987
Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...
; '' The Cannibals'', directed by de Oliveira, in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival; and in 1989 '' Recordações da Casa Amarela'', directed by João César Monteiro, winning the
Silver Lion The Silver Lion ( it, Leone d'argento, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The pri ...
at the
46th Venice International Film Festival The 46th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 4 to 15 September 1989. Jury The following people comprised the 1989 jury: * Andrei Smirnov: Head of Jury *Néstor Almendros *Pupi Avati *Klaus Maria Brandauer * Danièle Heymann * ...
.


1990s

In 1994
Maria de Medeiros Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida, DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions. Ear ...
won the
Volpi Cup The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
for Best Actress at the
51st Venice International Film Festival The 51st annual Venice International Film Festival was held on 1 September to 12 September, 1994. Jury The following people comprised the 1994 jury: *David Lynch (head of jury) * Olivier Assayas *Margherita Buy * Gaston Kaboré *Nagisa Oshima *D ...
for her work in '' Três Irmãos'', directed by
Teresa Villaverde Teresa Villaverde (born 18 May 1966) is a Portuguese film director. Her film ''Os Mutantes'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography *''A Idade Maior'' (1991) *'' Três Irmãos'' (1994) *''Os M ...
. '' The Convent'', directed by
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1995 Cannes Film Festival The 48th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 1995. The Palme d'Or went to ''Underground'' by Emir Kusturica. The festival opened with '' La Cité des enfants perdus'', directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and closed with '' The Quick and th ...
. '' Po di Sangui'', directed by
Flora Gomes Flora Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean film director. He was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau on 31 December 1949 and after high school in Cuba, he decided to study film at the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos in Havana. Shot ...
, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1996. The Palme d'Or went to '' Secrets & Lies'' by Mike Leigh. The festival opened with ''Ridicule'', directed by Patrice Leconte and closed with '' Flirting with Disaster'', directed by ...
. In 1997 '' Genealogies of a Crime'', directed by Raúl Ruiz, was in competition for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
at the
47th Berlin International Film Festival The 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The People vs. Larry Flynt'' directed by Miloš Forman. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian f ...
. '' The Letter'', directed by
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
and it won the Jury Prize at the
1999 Cannes Film Festival The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker, actor and author David Cronenberg was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the French– Belgian film '' Rosetta'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The fest ...
. '' Time Regained'', directed by Raúl Ruiz, was also in competition for the Palme d'Or.


2000s

Notable accolades of this decade were '' I'm Going Home'', directed by
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
, in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film '' The Son's Room'' by Nanni Moretti. The festival opened with ...
; '' The Uncertainty Principle'', also directed by de Oliveira, was in competition for the same award the following year. In 2004 de Oliveira won an Honorary
Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
. In 2005, thirteen Portuguese feature films released, one an animation co-produced with Spain, '' Midsummer Dream''. The most successful film of the year was ''
O Crime do Padre Amaro ''O Crime do Padre Amaro'' ("The Crime of Father Amaro"), subtitled 'Scenes of Religious Life', is a novel by the 19th-century Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queiroz. It was first published in 1875 to great controversy. Background E� ...
'', with more than 300,000 viewers and grossing more than 1.3 million euros. The following year, 22 feature films were released, five of them documentaries. The most successful film that year was '' Filme da Treta'', with more than 270,000 viewers, grossing more than 1 million euros. In 2006 there were 19 feature films produced. In 2007, 15, in 2008, 21 and in 2009, 23. '' Colossal Youth'', directed by
Pedro Costa Pedro Costa (born 30 December 1958) is a Portuguese film director. He is best known for his sequence of films set in Lisbon, which focuses on the lives of the impoverished residents of a slum in the Fontainhas neighbourhood. Biography After com ...
, was in competition for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over th ...
. Three years later, ''
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
'', directed by João Salaviza, won the
Short Film Palme d'Or The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation section in 1998, a common Official Jury awards the Short Film Palme ...
at the
2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...
. The first Portuguese animated feature film, '' João Sete Sete'', premiered in 2006 on Cinanima.


2010s

In 2010 Portugal produced 22 feature films. The next year, it produced 19, with the most commercially successful being '' Blood of My Blood'' by João Canijo with 20,953 views and a gross of €97,800. The share of native cinema at the Portuguese box office was 0.7%. On the artistic side, one of the most successful films was Joaquim Sapinho's '' This Side of Resurrection'', which premiered at the Visions programme at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
with a US premiere at the
Harvard Film Archive The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of film, the HFA houses a ...
in Boston. At the
62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the President of the Jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...
, in 2012, ''
Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
'', directed by Miguel Gomes, was in competition for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
and '' Rafa'', directed by João Salaviza, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film. '' The Lines of Wellington'' was in competition for the
Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
at the
69th Venice International Film Festival The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, organized by Venice Biennale, took place at Venice Lido from 29 August to 8 September 2012. The festival opened with the Indian director Mira Nair's '' The Reluctant Fundamentalist'', and clos ...
. As of 11 November 2012, the highest grossing Portuguese film of the year was '' Balas & Bolinhos - O Último Capítulo'' with a €1.243 million gross, followed by '' Morangos com Açúcar – O Filme'' with €1,208 million.


Festivals

* MOTELx - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival *
Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival The Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival (LEFFEST), formerly known as Estoril Film Festival, (also known as Lisbon & Sintra Film Festival) is an annual international film festival held in November in Estoril, on the Portuguese Riviera The Portug ...
* IndieLisboa * Curtas Vila do Conde - International Film Festival * DocLisboa * Monstra * Caminhos do Cinema Português *
Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to fantasy/science fiction/ horror-oriented commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental proj ...


See also

* List of Portuguese films * List of Portuguese film directors * List of Portuguese film actors * List of film festivals in Portugal *
Sophia Awards The Sophia Awards are the Portuguese cinematographic and film awards, assigned annually, which aim to recognize the best national productions. Its name was chosen in honor of the Portuguese poet and writer Sophia de Mello Breyner Andersen and al ...
* Cinemateca Portuguesa * Cinema of the world * '' The School of Reis'' *
Media of Portugal Mass media in Portugal includes a variety of online, print, and broadcast formats, such as radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. In the 20th century the Portuguese government censored the media, until the " 1976 constitution guaranteed fr ...


References


Bibliography

* Cinema – bibliography by José de Matos-Cruz
Silent film at Amor de Perdição
*Ribeiro, Félix ''O Cinema Português antes do Sonoro'', Esboço Históriconema Português, Terra Livre, Lisbon, Portugal, 1978. *Ribeiro, Félix, ''Panorama do Cinema Português'', Lisbon, Portugal. *Bandeira, José Gomes, ''Porto: 100 anos de cinema português'', Câmara Municipal do Porto, Porto, Portugal, 1996. *Antunes, João and Matos-Cruz, José de, ''Cinema Português 1896–1998'', Lusomundo, Lisbon, Portugal, 1997. *Duarte, Fernando, ''Primitivos do Cinema Português'', ed. Cinecultura, Lisbon, Portugal, 1960. *Faria de Almeida, M., ''Resumo da História do Cinema'', RTP Centro de Formação, Lisbon, Portugal, 1982. *Ferreira, António J., ''O Cinema Chegou a Portugal'', – Palestra Baseada no Livro A Fotografia Animada em Portugal 1894-1895-1896-1897 – 1896. *Ferreira, António J., ''A Fotografia Animada em Portugal'', 1894-1896-1897, ed. Cinemateca Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal, 1986. *Nobre, Roberto, ''Singularidades do Cinema Português'', Portugália Editora, Lisbon, Portugal. * *Pina, Luís de, ''História do Cinema Português'', Colecção Saber nº190, Publicações Europa-América, Lisboa, 1986. *Pina, Luís de, ''Aventura do Cinema Português'', ed. Vega, Lisbon, Portugal, 1977 *Pina, Luís de, ''Documentarismo Português'', Instituto Português de Cinema, 1977. *Pina, Luís de, ''Panorama do Cinema Português'', Terra Livre, Lisbon, Portugal, 1978.


External links

;In English
Doc History : Portugal

ICA
(Audiovisual and Film Office)
European-films.net
– Reviews, trailers, interviews, news and previews of recent and upcoming * José de Matos-Cruz – historian of the Portuguese cinema
Selection of Portuguese non-fiction silent films
on the European Film Gateway ;In Portuguese

(instituto Camões)
Amor de Perdição
(film data base)
Portuguese cinema
at Público
Novas & velhas tendências no cinema português contemporâneo
{{Europe in topic, Cinema of