SPECIAL SESSION | CATARINA VASCONCELOS

13 OCT | 11:00 AM | PASSOS MANUEL*

FILM SESSION + TALK WITH THE DIRECTOR

METÁFORA OU A TRISTEZA VIRADA DO AVESSO

CATARINA VASCONCELOS

2013 | UNITED KINGDOM, PORTUGAL | DOC | 32’

A correspondence between a brother and sister in the midst of the anniversary of their mother’s death, causes them to go in a journey to the past to understand the time where their mother lived and how their country, Portugal, was in the 1970’s when a revolution took place. In a blend of a family story with the Portuguese History, this film is a fight against oblivion.

One day I was wandering in Feira da Ladra, from stand to stand, looking for something that was missing in my film A Metamorfose dos Pássaros. I don’t recall what I was looking for, but I remember stopping at a stand selling photographs of people whose lives were unknown to me. Among these records, I found a photograph of a friend of mine: I double-checked to be sure it was her, and to save her from that stay among strangers, I brought it back with me and I carry it now in my wallet until my friend and I meet again. Before my grandfather died, he asked his children to burn all the letters exchanged between him and my grandmother. He also made sure that the photos were well-taken care of: from family photos to ID photos. I realize today that my grandfather knew that there are photographs and letters with a life of its own that travel mysteriously to Feira da Ladra and other fairs.

I realized with Metáfora ou a tristeza virada do avesso and A Metamorfose dos Pássaros that as much as we try to control our memories and keep them in places where we think we will find them, they always end up finding their ways, between reality and fiction.