Heart Beat

Heart Beat once again celebrates the intersection between cinema and the arts. On the 100th anniversary of György Kurtág, his music dialogues with that of Nino Rota. Elza Soares and Kate Bush cross paths with Nha Balila, a living legend of batuku, whilst Carminho’s fado travels to Japan. Back in Portugal, we pay tribute to the late João Aguardela. Pina Bausch’s legacy is brought to life in The Voice of Orpheus, and Juliette Binoche makes her directorial debut by revisiting a performance with choreographer Akram Khan. Francesco Zippel returns with a portrait of Vittorio De Sica; Orson Welles retunrs to life in the restored film co-directed by Oja Kodar, his partner and collaborator; Douglas Gordon confronts himself; and Sébastien Laudenbach reinterprets the opera Carmen through animation. From New York, with Siri Hustvedt, we travel on to Tangier, where Paul Bowles is portrayed through a Moroccan lens. Marta Pessoa rediscovers five Portuguese female authors, Margarida Gil follows the proofreading of O Livro do Meio, and Edmundo Cordeiro meets José Bragança de Miranda. Cantona stars in the eponymous film, and the ‘fight of the century’ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier returns in the restored version of William Greaves’ The Fight. Rounding off the programme is a focus on Jonás Trueba and the films of Pasi ‘Sleeping’ Myllymäki.

Luca D’Introno

FOCUS PASI 'SLEEPING' MYLLYMÄKI

In 1976, fifty years ago, Pasi ‘Sleeping’ Myllymäki (born in 1950) started making his super 8mm shorts, injecting the fierce independence and unbridled frenzy of punk into Finnish cinema. Between 1976 and 1985, he produced over 40 films together with his constant cinematographer, Risto Laakkonen. This first Portuguese retrospective of a provocative, innovative and witty DIY-rebel is also a tribute to Laakkonen, who passed away this January.

18 Oct / 17:15 / 93’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/a-punk-wonder-of-super-8mm-cinema/

A Punk Wonder of Super 8mm Cinema

Uma Maravilha Punk do Cinema Super 8mm
Pasi Sleeping Myllymäki

This adventure is a particular look at the whole history of avant-garde experimental cinema in a single screening. Myllymäki, inspired by Norman McLaren, worked with…

MOSTRA ESPANHA — JONÁS TRUEBA

Jonás Trueba, a key contemporary Spanish filmmaker, presents the new version of Los ilusos: “It is our foundational film, almost a documentary about ourselves”. When we invited him to choose a film for this focus, he suggested Chicho o mientras el cuerpo aguante, Fernando Trueba’s second film, made just before Jonás was born. Both are second films; both somehow react against the directors’ first works; both were shot on 16mm and have now been restored.

24 Oct / 16:30 / 122’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/vistillas/

Vistillas

Jonás Trueba

On the occasion of Jonás Trueba’s retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in 2026, the Madrid filmmaker was commissioned to make a film for the Où…

https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/the-wishful-thinkers-13-13/

The Wishful Thinkers 13 + 13

Los ilusos 13 + 13
Jonás Trueba

What some filmmakers do when they are not making movies: they waste time; they eat and get drunk; they take a walk after watching a…

25 Oct / 15:30 / 89’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/chicho-o-mientras-el-cuerpo-aguante-una-comedia-didactica/

Chicho o mientras el cuerpo aguante (una comedia didáctica)

Fernando Trueba

Released in 1982, Fernando Trueba’s second feature is now presented in a version restored by ECAM from the original 16mm negative. Son of Falangist writer…

OTHER HEART BEAT

15 Oct / 11:00 / 90’
Culturgest - Pequeno Auditório
25 Oct / 21:45 / 90’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/viva-carmen/

Viva Carmen

Carmen, l'oiseau rebelle
Sébastien Laudenbach

Drawing on Georges Bizet’s Carmen, one of the world’s most popular and frequently performed operas, Sébastien Laudenbach reframes the story through the eyes of a…

15 Oct / 18:45 / 113’
Culturgest - Pequeno Auditório
21 Oct / 21:30 / 113’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/kurtag-fragments/

Kurtág Fragments

Kurtág töredékek
Dénes Nagy

György Kurtág, one of the most influential contemporary composers and the last great figure of the post-war avant-garde, marks his 100th birthday in 2026. Kurtág…

15 Oct / 19:00 / 111’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
25 Oct / 18:00 / 111’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/siri-hustvedt-dance-around-the-self/

Siri Hustvedt – Dance Around the Self

Sabine Lidl

Young and driven, Siri Hustvedt leaves the quiet landscapes of Minnesota for the pulsating life of New York City, where the search for her first…

15 Oct / 21:45 / 88’
Cinema Ideal
24 Oct / 15:00 / 88’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/orson-welles-the-one-man-band/

Orson Welles: The One-Man Band

Oja Kodar, Vassili Silovic

Like a treasure chest filled with little-known riches, Orson Welles: The One-Man Band brings together rare footage from projects Welles never completed or released. Drawing…

16 Oct / 11:00 / 100’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
20 Oct / 18:30 / 100’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/once-upon-a-time-in-harlem/

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

David Greaves

A decade after his death, genre-defying director William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve: never-before-seen footage he considered the most important he ever…

16 Oct / 19:00 / 69’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
19 Oct / 21:45 / 69’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/o-filme-do-meio/

O Filme do Meio

Margarida Gil

Maria Velho da Costa and Armando Silva Carvalho proofread a book they co-authored, entitled O Livro do Meio. Over the course of four days, they…

16 Oct / 19:30 / 118’
Cinema Ideal
25 Oct / 18:30 / 118’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/nino-un-film-su-nino-rota/

Nino – Un film su Nino Rota

Walter Fasano

Celebrated for 150 film scores, including works for directors such as Visconti, Fellini and Coppola, Nino Rota was also respected for his concert music. Narrated…

17 Oct / 15:00 / 127’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/the-fight-the-william-greaves-directors-cut/

The Fight [The William Greaves Director’s Cut]

The Fight [The William Greaves Director's Cut]
William Greaves

Promoted as ‘the fight of the century’, the 1971 heavyweight championship between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali came to embody America’s deep divisions. Returning to…

17 Oct / 19:30 / 53’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
24 Oct / 21:30 / 53’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/kate-bush-the-timeless-genius/

Kate Bush – The Timeless Genius

L'Odyssée musicale de Kate Bush
Sonia Gonzalez

In 2022, the series Stranger Things propelled Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which was released in 1985, to the top of the charts. At…

17 Oct / 21:45 / 89’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
20 Oct / 21:45 / 89’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/the-sailors-life/

The Sailor’s Life

Esta Vida de Marinheiro
Paulo Miguel Antunes

João Aguardela was one of the most distinctive characters in contemporary Portuguese music. Over more than two decades, he blended tradition and experimentation in projects…

17 Oct / 21:45 / 88’
Cinema Ideal
25 Oct / 21:30 / 88’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/douglas-gordon-by-douglas-gordon/

Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon

Finlay Pretsell

Raised in a rough Scottish housing estate by Jehovah’s Witness parents during the economically and politically grim era of Margaret Thatcher, Douglas Gordon is one…

18 Oct / 18:30 / 99’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
19 Oct / 19:30 / 99’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/the-voice-of-orpheus/

The Voice of Orpheus

La Parole d’Orphée
Arnold Pasquier

In Wuppertal, two dancers learn Pina Bausch’s Orpheus and Eurydice under the direction of Dominique Mercy, who created the role of Orpheus in 1975. Between…

18 Oct / 18:30 / 77’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
23 Oct / 19:30 / 77’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/nha-balila/

Nha Balila

Nha Balila - Dentu d'Algem
André Xina, Inês Alves

Loved and cherished by Cape Verdeans around the world, Nha Balila—a living legend of batuku—has been invited to Portugal to celebrate International Women’s Day. At…

19 Oct / 18:30 / 125’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
24 Oct / 21:45 / 125’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/in-i-in-motion/

In-I In Motion

En nous
Juliette Binoche

In 2007, French actress Juliette Binoche and British dancer-choreographer Akram Khan co-created In-I, an intense performance developed over six months and staged 100 times worldwide.…

21 Oct / 19:15 / 75’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
22 Oct / 19:30 / 75’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/five-eyes/

Five Eyes

Karim Debbagh

For more than half of his life, writer and composer Paul Bowles lived in Tangier, becoming closely associated with the city. Returning there, Karim Debbagh,…

21 Oct / 21:30 / 76’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/letter-to-jose-braganca-de-miranda/

Letter to José Bragança de Miranda

Carta a José Bragança de Miranda
Edmundo Cordeiro

Drawing on a lesson by José Bragança de Miranda on the Temptations of Saint Anthony and the death of Christ, Edmundo Cordeiro paints a portrait…

21 Oct / 21:45 / 112’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
25 Oct / 16:30 / 112’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/elza-soares-the-woman-of-the-end-of-the-world/

Elza Soares, The Woman of the End of the World

Elza Soares, A Mulher do Fim do Mundo
Paula Gaitán

With her radical voice, visceral improvisation and unmistakable rasp, Elza Soares created a unique artistic language and transcended generations, continually reinventing herself as one of…

https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/elza/

Elza

Eryk Rocha

With her radical voice, visceral improvisation and unmistakable rasp, Elza Soares created a unique artistic language and transcended generations, continually reinventing herself as one of…

22 Oct / 21:30 / 101’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
24 Oct / 19:30 / 101’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala 3
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/vittorio-de-sica-staging-life/

Vittorio De Sica – Staging Life

Vittorio De Sica – La vita in scena
Francesco Zippel

With exclusive access to the De Sica family, previously unseen archival materials and testimonies from artists and filmmakers including Wes Anderson, Isabella Rossellini, Ruben Östlund,…

23 Oct / 19:00 / 93’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/in-this-room/

In This Room

Neste Quarto
Ana Rocha de Sousa

In a world that seems determined to fall apart, poetry, empathy and music become a mere reminder of the urgent need to understand one another.…

23 Oct / 21:30 / 98’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
25 Oct / 19:30 / 98’
Cinema Ideal
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/letter-to-a-young-writer/

Letter to a Young Writer

Carta a Uma Jovem Escritora
Marta Pessoa

Carta a Uma Jovem Escritora takes as its starting point the rediscovery of five Portuguese women writers who, in different ways, are far from receiving…

23 Oct / 21:30 / 116’
Cinema São Jorge - Sala M. Oliveira
25 Oct / 15:00 / 116’
Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
https://doclisboa.org/en/filmes/cantona/

Cantona

David Tryhorn, Ben Nicholas

The most gifted footballer of his generation was finished. Retiring in disgrace at 25, Eric Cantona seemed destined for exile from the sport he loved.…

Sections Festival

Lino Brocka Retrospective

Lino Brocka Retrospective

International Competition

International Competition

Closing Session

Closing Session

Portuguese Competition

Portuguese Competition