18 years after Pedro Costa presented "Colossal Youth" in the official competition, Portugal has a movie running for the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film "Grand Tour", by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, is part of the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which started this Tuesday and runs until May 25.
This is the first time that Miguel Gomes has been in the competition for the Palme d'Or, but the director's cinema has been a regular presence at Cannes, namely in the Directors' Fortnight, where he presented "That Dear Month of August" (2008), "A Thousand and One Nights" (2015) and "The Otsoga Diaries" (2021), co-starring Maureen Fazendeiro.
“Grand Tour” kicks off in 1917 in Burma. It centers on Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, who runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward’s move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
The film stars Gonçalo Waddington and Crista Alfaiate, and the cast also includes Cláudio da Silva and Lang Khê Tran.
Seven other Portuguese films will be shown at the festival:
Paulo Carneiro's "A Savana e a Montanha", a western, in the alternative section of the Filmmakers' Fortnight;
Isadora Neves Marques' short film "As Minhas Sensações São tudo o que Tenho para Oferecer," in the Critics' Week, another parallel section of the festival, which has shown interest in Portuguese cinema at every edition, from Gabriel Abrantes to Cristèle Alves Meira;
Frederico Lobo, still in the Fortnight, with his short film "Quando a Terra Foge" - a mysterious film that escapes us;
Inês Lima and her feisty, burlesque version of the "Arrábida mountains: O Jardim em Movimento," also in the Quinzena;
Daniel Soares and his architect in crisis: "Mau por Um Momento," in competition in the official selection of short films, a section that in 2009 awarded a Palme d'Or to Arena by João Salaviza;
"Miséricorde," a co-production between France, Spain and the Portuguese production company Rosa Filmes, has its world premiere in the Cannes Première section, making it part of the festival's official selection;
And Hernán Rossell's "Algo viejo, algo nuevo, algo prestado" co-producted by Portugal’s Oublaum Filmes, to be screened at the Directors' Fortnight.
It should be remembered that in the 76 previous editions of the Cannes Film Festival, Portuguese cinema has only won one Palme d'Or, for João Salaviza's short film "Arena", in 2009, but has never won a major prize for feature films.
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