Man in Black, Wang Bing, 2023, France, USA, UK
Wang Bing, an essential Chinese filmmaker and a regular presence in Doclisboa’s programme, returns to the festival with Man in Black, the opening film of the 21st edition, scheduled for 19 October, 9pm, at Cinema São Jorge. Leonor Teles’ first feature-length fiction film, Baan is the closing film of Doclisboa’ 23 – and will have its Portuguese premiere on 29 October 29, 9pm, at Culturgest.
In Man In Black, Wang Bing – author of works such as Fathers and Sons (Doclisboa 2014) and Dead Souls (Doclisboa 2018) – portrays the body and soul of Wang Xilin, a Chinese composer and dissident. Using excerpts from Xilin’s symphonies, the filmmaker registers the horrors recalled by the octogenarian composer, stories of dehumanization in a country and a regime in permanent upheaval. Wang Xilin will be in Lisbon for the opening session of the 21st edition of the festival.
On 29 October, it’s Leonor Teles‘ turn. Baan (“house” in Thai), the Portuguese director’s first feature-length fiction film, takes us on a journey through the places and emotions of its protagonist, the young architect L (Carolina Miragaia). L’s love tribulations take place between Lisbon and Bangkok, between a past relationship that insists on haunting the present, and the excitement and fear of the future embodied in the figure of a mysterious woman with whom L falls in love: K (Meghna Lall), a Canadian of Thai descent. In a Lisbon struggling with real estate speculation and migratory tensions, or in the streets flooded with lights and stimuli of Thailand, Leonor Teles (Ashore, Doclisboa 2018) portrays two young women in search of their place in the world, their home – Baan.
Baan, Leonor Teles, 2023, Portugal
New Visions with Paula Gaitán and Mika Taanila
In the New Visions section, dedicated to revealing new perspectives on the cinematographic landscape, there are two guest filmmakers: Colombian-Brazilian Paula Gaitán, whose films hold an exceptional freedom – and are a regular presence at Doclisboa; and Mika Taanila, a Finnish filmmaker and visual artist, author of an extensive body of work. The festival will screen two films by Gaitán (O Canto das Amapolas, 2014; and Night Box, 2015), and three works by Taanila (Monica in the South Seas, 2023; I Might be Stuck, 2022; and Robocup99, 2000).
Also noteworthy is a performative trip back in time by Luciana Fina: Andromeda (2023) is a cinematographic and artistic exercise about Italian public television in the 1960s and 1970s; and an evocation of a young viewer given over to discovery and experimentation. The screening, in collaboration with Temps D’ Images Festival, documents and revitalizes the complexity of arts and ideas at a singular moment in the history of image making; it will take place on 21 October, 7pm, at Cinemateca Portuguesa.
The press conference for the 21st edition of Doclisboa, at which the full programme will be announced, is scheduled for 27 September, 11am, at Culturgest. Leonor Teles and Wang Bing (via videoconference) will take part in this meeting with the media.
In October, the whole world fits in Lisbon.
