National premiere at MDOC - Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival
O HOMEM DO CINEMA, directed by José Vieira, had its world premiere at FEMA - La Rochelle Cinema Festival on July 1st, 2025.
The premiere in La Rochelle held deep symbolic and emotional significance: it is the festival co-founded by Jean-Loup Passek, now the stage for the first screening of a film that celebrates his legacy and the heartfelt connection between France and Portugal, between Melgaço and the world of cinema.
This is a production by Fora de Campo Filmes, funded by the Municipality of Melgaço and supported by AO NORTE Association, honoring the life and legacy of Passek, an iconic figure in global cinephilia and a "Portuguese at heart." A visionary and tireless collector, Passek was the driving force behind the Melgaço Cinema Museum.
José Vieira was born in Oliveira de Frades, and left for France in 1965, at the age of seven. His personal experience as a migrant and the many stories heard and related from other emigrants inspired his latterday work as a director. Starting from individual stories, he traced the portrait of emigration in France, recovering an entire collective memory in the process.
