From an early age, José Celeiro finds in music the spirit for life. Today, he shares this passion by opening the door of his “House of Concertinas” to anyone who wants to enter.
Protagonists: José Celeiro, Ester Celeiro, Marta Celeiro, Sara Gonçalves, Ramon Estevez, Manuel Monteiro and David Esteves
Carolina and Patrícia studied Artistic Studies at the University of Coimbra, and Tomás studied Design and Multimedia at the same university. In 2021, in the production of their film “O Alto do Mártir” Carolia (direction) joined Tomás (postproduction) to the team, already with Patrícia (direction of photography). The short film was screened at festivals such as DocLisboa and Caminhos do Cinema Português. Next, they venture into the Plano Frontal residency.
Luís Carlos Gonçalves is an emblematic sheep shepherd and former smuggler who works in the village of Fiães. Born and raised on the margin between Portugal and Spain, Luís is neither from here nor from there. From a guest character to becoming part of the team, Luís directs the camera and gaze towards the immensity of the intermediate point, transforming a film about the border into frontier cinema. In this frontier film, the border between two countries is the setting for us to question the nuances between what separates and unites places and generations, languages and dialects, fiction and documentary, team and character.
Intervenient and co-criador: Luís Carlos Gonçalves
Marina, Amanda and Inês are a film crew that communicates across the portuñol border. One is Brazilian, lives in Portugal and has lived in Spain. The Other is Portuguese, has lived in Brazil and visits Spain. And the Other is Spanish, speaks Portuguese with a Brazilian accent and lives in Lisbon. The three met during their comings and goings, and for the first time, they are making a film together on the border.
Rosa was born 66 years ago in Mozambique, a country she loves and hopes to one day be able to return. “A free and happy land” she recalls. At the age of 19, due to the war, her parents returned to their homeland, Melgaço. Rosa, as an only child, is forced to accompany them. Although she never studied Fine Arts, her passion as a girl, she ended up opening a Crafts Atelier when she became unemployed, and making her living about the art. At the Atelier, she uses art as a refuge, creating memories that travel with tourists visiting the village, while Rosa “travels” through memories of her past in Mozambique.
Cátia, António and Francisco met in Lisbon while attending, respectively, the annual courses of direction, image operator and postproduction at ETIC. In 2022, right after the academic end, they decided to participate in the Plano Frontal cinematographic residence, and so the short film “Recordação” was created, their first project together. In February 2023 they finished the second project “As árvores também choram”, also a documentary short film which will soon enter the festival circuit.
Filipa agreed to meet us at 15h00 and didn't show up. We went looking for her around Melgaço. People lead to people – a real journey, in a territory that reveals itself, and also revealing the connections between people and things. On foot, or in our Citroen Saxo, we travel around Melgaço and its stories... We sat down and chatted with almost everyone we passed.
Ana studied for five years at FLUL and FBAUL, Stephanie completed her master's degree in Image and Sound in Norwich, United Kingdom, and João obtained his master’s degree in photography at IPC. Ana and Stephanie met on the Ar.co film course, and in Melgaço, they formed a team with João and embarked on an adventure to create a narrative that combines fiction and documentary, allowing them to approach the territory and its inhabitants in an intimate and authentic way.
