''Alice'' is a Portuguese film directed by Marco Martins, released in 2005. ''Alice'' stars Nuno Lopes as Mário, the father, and Beatriz Batarda as Luísa, his wife, as well as Miguel Guilherme, Ana Bustorff, Gonçalo Waddington, Carla Maciel, Laura Soveral and José Wallenstein. ''Alice'' was produced by

Paulo Branco Paulo Branco (born 3 June 1950) is a Portuguese film producer. Life and career Paulo Branco was born in Lisbon, and attended the undergraduate program in chemical engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico, but did not graduate. He worked a ...

. Music is by Bernardo Sassetti. Shot in a dark, depressive undertone, ''Alice'' unveils a Lisbon whose mists, colours, alleys and moods are strangers, despite the familiarity of the locations. All seems odd, silently cruel, as cruel is the disappearance of a child from the path she'd traveled every day in (apparent) safety. The anguish is masterfully conveyed, and so is the loneliness of both parents.

Plot

It's been 193 days since Alice was last seen. Every day, her father, Mário, leaves home and follows exactly the same route the day Alice disappeared. In his quest, Mário creates a video surveillance network on the places she might walk, the airport, anything that may provide a clue. Every day, he watches countless hours of surveillance tapes in fast-forward, expecting to get a glimpse of his child. Almost every day, hope is born. Almost every day, hope is extinguished - until one day, the search seems to be over.

Cast

* Nuno Lopes as Mário * Beatriz Batarda as Luísa * Miguel Guilherme * Ana Bustorff as Margarida * Laura Soveral as Lurdes * Gonçalo Waddington as Airport Security * Carla Maciel as Mónica * José Wallenstein as Detective * Clara Andermatt * Ivo Canelas as Ricardo

Awards

An internationally acclaimed success, ''Alice'' won and received nominations for a number of awards, including: *

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

- Won

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

Best Picture Award 2005. *

- Won ''Jeunes Regards'' Award 2005. *

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

- Won Shooting Star Award 2006 (Nuno Lopes). * Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival - Won Best Director - 1st work 2006 (Marco Martins). *

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

- Nominated for the Fassbinder Award 2005. *

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival () is an List of film festivals, international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature festival recognized by the FIAPF ...

- Won Best Director, Best Filmography and FIPRESCI Prize 2006. Nominated for Best Film. *

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove ...

- Won Best Director - 1st work 2006 (Marco Martins). ''Alice'' was submitted for the

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

(2007) in the category

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

References

External links

* {{Portuguese submissions for Academy Awards 2005 films 2005 drama films 2000s Portuguese-language films Films produced by Paulo Branco Portuguese drama films Golden Globes (Portugal) winners Films shot in Portugal Films directed by Marco Martins Films scored by Bernardo Sassetti