“Clandestina”, a documentary by Maria Mire that recalls the work of resisting the dictatorship of the artist Margarida Tengarrinha, won the A Voz das Mulheres and best Portuguese film awards at the Porto Femme festival – International Film Festival. The short film “Pelo Sim For No”, by Laura Andrade, which portrays the female experience based on the conversations of a group of friends, received the Festival Prize, which began its seventh edition on the 16th, mobilizing around three thousand people, in five spaces of Porto, and closed on Sunday night.”Clandestina”, by Maria Mire, has as its starting point the work “Memórias de Uma Falsificadora – A Luta na Clandestinidade pela Liberdade em Portugal”, by teacher and illustrator Margarida Tengarrinha (1928- 2023) who during the dictatorship falsified documents from persecuted opponents. “The interest in making this film is linked both to the urgency of bringing out of the shadow the action of women who fought in a revolutionary way in this dark period of contemporary Portuguese history, as well as that of think about the political dimension present in the small gestures of everyday life”, according to the director, mentioned in the presentation of the work. The A Voz das Mulheres award, for “voices that refuse silence”, distinguishes the best Portuguese film that addresses the importance “of “Cure 1”, by Joana Peralta, as best experimental film, “Sopa Fria”, by Marta Monteiro, as best animated film, ” As Melusinas à Margem do Rio”, by Melanie Pereira, as best documentary, and “Entre a Luz e o Nada”, by Joana de Sousa, as best work of fiction. In the international competition, the award for best documentary went to “Prague's Girl”, by Andree Lucini, from Italy, best animation for the French production “Green grass”, by Eli Augarten, and best experimental film for “The Altar”, by Moe Myat May Zarchi, from Myanmar. Fiction awards included “Uli”, by Mariana Gil Ríos, from Colombia, as best short film, and “Woodland”, by Elisabeth Scharang, from Austria, as best feature film. Mulheres went to “Bald Women”, by Sandra Román, from Spain.The cultural association It Gets Better Portugal received the Sororidade award, for its global work supporting young gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans and intersex people.The Porto international film festival Femme, which defines itself as showcasing the “best cinema produced by women and non-binary people”, dedicated its programming to women and the revolution this year, because for some of them “the 25th of April took a long time to arrive”. films such as “Revolucion” (1975), by Ana Hatherly, “Abortion is not a crime” (1976), by Mónica Rutler and Fernando Matos Silva, “Beirut: Eye of the Storm” (2021), by Mai Masri, and “ Sagargur” (2024), by Natasa Nelevic. At the opening, tribute was paid to Portuguese filmmaker Margarida Cardoso, who directed films such as “Natal 71”, “A costa dos murmurúrios” and “Yvone Kane”.The official Porto Femme competition featured this year with 122 films from 38 countries. The full list of awards is available on the festival's social networks.
Documentary about Margarida Tengarrinha awarded at Porto Femme festival
