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CINEMA & POLITICS - FILM SCREENINGS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Cinema & Politics is a film screening and panel discussion programme that proposes a critical and reflective analysis of the impact of cinema on contemporary society, addressing philosophical, socio-economic and socio-cultural issues. Through a careful selection of films that explore relevant themes, such as power, democracy, (in)equality, freedom, justice, resistance, memory, ecology, globalization, among others, this programme aims to stimulate debate and reflection on the relevance of cinema in understanding today’s world.
The programme also offers a space for discussion and exchange of ideas – since the sessions are always followed by discussions, moderated by researchers and students, with the participation of guests with a direct connection to the proposed theme, thus seeking to deepen reflection and encourage the collective construction of the knowledge.
The programme is organized by the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches, within the scope of the activities of the Laboratory of Cinema and Philosophy (CineLab) and with the support of the Laboratory of Dissemination (OutLab), in collaboration with PENHA SCO (2023) and Cossoul (2023-2024).
Rosetta (1999)
Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Young, impulsive Rosetta lives a hard and stressful life as she struggles to support herself and her alcoholic mother. Refusing all charity, she is desperate to maintain a dignified job.
With the participation of Paolo Stellino, a researcher at the Nova Institute of Philosophy (IFILNOVA) and invited professor at the Department of Philosophy (FCSH), and Dilar Cascalheira, science manager, researcher and collaborator of the Cinema & Politics working group. The discussion will be moderated by Cátia Rodrigues, MA student in Aesthetics and Artistic Studies.
The Insider (1999)
Michael Mann
Gripping and powerful, 'The Insider' is based on the story of tobacco executive turned whistle-blower, Jeffrey Wigand. This edge of your seat thriller recounts the chain of events that saw an ordinary man up against a corporate giant in the fight of his life.
With the participation of Dina Mendonça, an integrated member of IFILNOVA, Appointed Research Fellow and Coordinator of the research group Philosophy and argumentation in society.
My Kaaba is HUMAN (2017)
Sinem TaÅŸ
&
Disturbed Earth: A Choreography of Bureaucratic Incompetence (2021)
Didem Pekün
Kaaba is the heart of the most sacred mosque in Mecca and “My Kaaba is HUMAN” is the maxim of Alevism and Bektashism, philosophies that place humanity at the center of all values. But what remains of the humanity of over a million refugees and migrants who since 2014 have tried to reach Europe by boat, losing their lives by the thousands? This documentary, by putting us face to face with six refugees in Portugal, forces this question on us.
Disturbed Earth is a theatrical performance rehearsal shot in one day. The genocide at Srebrenica unfolds under the guardianship of the UN, as the world’s leading diplomats and military experts are unwilling to intervene. The men deliberate, sending messages and directions to other officials, but no decisions are ever made. The reasons are manifold — some personal ambitions, some bigoted prejudices, some fanatic obsessions — all flavored with the procedural lockstep of bureaucracy. The tragedy unfolds elsewhere.
With the participation of Sinem TaÅŸ, filmmaker and photographer, Elizabeth Challinor, researcher at CRIA – NOVA FCSH and member of NOVA Asylum Policy Lab.
Legacy, notre héritage (2021)
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Ten years after the film Home (2009), Yann Arthus-Bertrand looks back, with Legacy, on his life and fifty years of commitment. It’s his most personal film. The photographer and director tells the story of nature and man. He also reveals a suffering planet and the ecological damage caused by man. He finally invites us to reconcile with nature and proposes several solutions.
With the participation of Dilar Cascalheira, science manager, researcher and collaborator of the Cinema & Politics working group, with Sina Knoll, a producer and a PhD student in Communication Sciences at NOVA FCSH, and Guilherme Serôdio, member of Rede para o Decrescimento, activist, free radical, degrowthist, PhD student and critical thinker.
Somos Mulheres (2023)
Marta Fiolić
The interactive documentary SOMOS MULHERES offers a glimpse in into the stories and lives of women who experienced homelessness in Lisbon, and it serves as an invitation to have an open and real discussion that can scatter misconceptions, inspire hope, and open the door to a more just society.
With the participation of the protagonists, women from the association SOMOS MULHERES, and Marta Fiolić, artist, researcher, and collaborator of the working group on Cinema & Politics at CineLab – IFILNOVA.
Café com Canela (2017)
Ary Rosa, Glenda Nicácio
Five friends drink beer and chat at Violeta’s house. Bit by bit, their stories of love, loss and suffering are told, revealing the acts of love and friendship that helped them through the hardest times of their lives.
With the participation of Samantha Ribeiro de Oliveira, filmmaker and broadcaster, PhD student in Literature, Culture, and Contemporaneity at the Department of Letters of PUC-RIO, currently a visiting researcher at CineLab of IFILNOVA, with a scholarship funded by CAPES / PRINT.
Notturno (2020)
Gianfranco Rosi
Filmed over three years on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and Lebanon, this documentary captures everyday life in the aftermath of tyranny, invasions and terrorism.
With the participation of Gabriele De Angelis, a political theorist who works as a researcher at NOVA University Lisbon and is the OutLab Coordinator, and Elizabeth Challinor, social anthropologist and an integrated member of CRIA — Centre for Research in Anthropology. The discussion will be moderated by Marta Fiolić, member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
iHuman (2019)
Tonje Hessen Schei
A political thriller about artificial intelligence, power and social control. With unparalleled access to the inside of the booming AI industry, this film shows how the most powerful and far-reaching technology of our time is changing our lives, our society and our future.
With the participation of Robert Clowes, researcher at IFILNOVA and invited auxiliary professor at the NOVA Univeristy of Lisbon, and Maria Irene Aparício, researcher of CineLab – Laboratory of Cinema and Philosophy, and an assistant professor at FCSH – NOVA University of Lisbon. Moderated by Miguel Rico, PhD student and collaborator of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
Domingo à Tarde (1966)
António de Macedo
Reflections on life and death through the eyes of a medicine doctor, researcher on blood deseases, under the anguish of consulting a terminally ill young woman.
With the participation of Paolo Stellino, researcher at IFILNOVA and invited professor at the Department of Philosophy (FCSH). Moderated by Paulo Portugal, PhD student and collaborator of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
Examined Life (2008)
Astra Taylor
Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets... Filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today’s most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas.
With the participation of Susana Viegas, researcher in Film Philosophy at IFILNOVA and member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches, and Lucas Ferraço Nassif, psychoanalyst and director, PhD in Literature, Culture and Contemporaneity from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Moderated by Marta Fiolić, member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
Concerning Violence (2014)
Göran Olsson
A bold and fresh visual narrative from Africa based on newly discovered archive material regarding the most defining moments in the struggle for liberation from colonial rule. This compelling footage is combined with text from Frantz Fanon's landmark book The Wretched of the Earth - written in 1960 and still a major tool for understanding and illuminating the neocolonialism happening today, as well as the unrest and the reactions against it.
With the participation of Pedro Aires Oliveira, Associate Professor at the Department of History at NOVA FCSH and integrated researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History, and Yussef, militant of the African Movement of Workers and Students - RGB. Moderated by Marta Fiolić, member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
A Minha Aldeia Já Não Mora Aqui (2005)
Catarina Mourão
With the construction of the Alqueva dam, Luz Village was condemned to disappear beneath the rising waters. Over the course of 6 years, filmmakers interviewed those affected and documented the process-which was also a clash between old and new Portugal.
With the participation of architect Pedro Pacheco and geographer and researcher Ana Estevens. Moderated by Grazie Pacheco, Master's student in Communication Sciences – Cinema & Television, and member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
What is Democracy? (2019)
Astra Taylor
Coming at a moment of profound political and social crisis,What Is Democracy? reflects on a word we too often take for granted.
Director Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’ groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor.
Featuring a diverse cast – including celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers – this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in democracy, we must first ask what the word even means.
With the participation of André Santos Campos, researcher at IFILNOVA, responsible for the research project “Present Democracy for Future Generations”, and Mariana Varela, sociologist, writer and coordinator of DiEM25 Portugal. Moderated by Marta Fiolić, member of the research group Cinema & Politics.
Águas do Pastaza (2022)
Inês T. Alves
It is along the Pastaza River, which travels from Ecuador to Peru, that we find the Achuar community that Inês T. Alves visited, without necessarily intending to make a film. But the curiosity and independence of the children she met — fluent in fishing, cooking or crafts — resulted in this documentary.
With the participation of director Inês T. Alves and moderated by Paulo Portugal, member of the research group Cinema & Politics: Philosophical Approaches.
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