Opening screening of the film programme Miguel Gomes - Full Retrospective and Carte Blanche, which explores the dialogue between the director’s filmography and his universe of cinematic influences. The screening includes Miguel Gomes’s first three short films, “Entretanto” (1999), “Inventário de Natal” (2000), and “Kalkitos” (2002), with an introduction by António Preto, director of the Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira.


ENTRETANTO | MEANWHILE

Miguel Gomes | POR | 1999 | 25’

Parents and teachers are away. Meanwhile, two boys and a 16-year-old girl form a love triangle. No one knows when it began or if it is about to end. Rui, Nuno, and Rita traverse three times and spaces to be alone: a rugby game, a pool party, and a deserted beach. Meanwhile, it is a time of suspension—of gestures, of communication, of language. The characters’ increased freedom only accentuates their sense of helplessness. There is no organized consciousness to structure their feelings, nor a language to communicate them. Therefore, we can only speculate: Does Rui love Rita, Nuno, or the game? Does Nuno love Rita and depend on Rui? Will Rita, the passive master of the game, love anyone? Of her, the central figure of the trio, we know only that she closes her eyes to take refuge in an ethereal inner world—the clouds are reality, “meanwhile” is the interval that suspends them. (official synopsis)


INVENTÁRIO DE NATAL | CHRISTMAS INVENTORY

Miguel Gomes | POR | 2000 | 21’

It is December 25, sometime in the mid-1980s. The family gathers at the grandparents’ house amid red drapes on the window overlooking the bay window, pendulum clocks, wicker-seated chairs, and a huge nativity scene. No single character takes center stage; the focus is solely on the group portrait comprising four generations and two dogs. (official synopsis)

KALKITOS

Miguel Gomes | POR | 2002 | 19’

A boy who looks to be about 20 asks to play ball with some young children. The kids find this strange and ask him his age. When he replies, “I’m ten,” he is mocked by the little ones. He walks away, alone and dejected. But he will meet other children who are different, just like him… The film is silent, with intertitles for dialogue. The characters open and close their mouths mechanically, as in Japanese animations. The only sound is “elevator music.” (official synopsis)