The 20th edition of LEFFEST opens this Friday, 6 November, with four opening films and the beginning of three retrospectives dedicated to major filmmakers: Lars von Trier (who the festival pays tribute to), Lee Chang-dong and Tiago Guedes.
The opening ceremony takes place at 7 pm at Cinema São Jorge’s Manoel de Oliveira Auditorium, with Paper Tiger, the new film by James Gray. In pursuit of the American Dream, two brothers become involved in a scheme that seems too good to be true. Delving into the world of the Russian mafia, Gray explores family ties, betrayal and ambition.
At 8:30 pm, at Cinema Medeia Nimas, Possible Love, by Lee Chang-dong, opens the retrospective dedicated to the South Korean filmmaker. This is the only opportunity to see this Netflix production on the big screen in Portugal. Two couples cross paths during the making of a documentary, setting in motion a complex web of desires, resentments and emotions that puts the limits of empathy and the commitments of love to the test.
At 9 pm, at Cinema NOS Vasco da Gama, Fjord, by Cristian Mungiu, is included in the Out of Competition programme. A deeply religious Romanian-Norwegian couple moves to a remote village by a fjord, where the community begins to question the family after their teenage daughter arrives at school with bruises.
The evening continues with the opening of the complete retrospective dedicated to Lars von Trier. At 9 pm, at Cinema São Jorge, The Element of Crime (1984), the Danish filmmaker’s feature debut, will be screened. At the same time, at Culturgest, Wild Horse Nine, by Martin McDonagh, will be presented as a preview screening. Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup d’état, two CIA agents are sent from Santiago to Easter Island, where a murky past and unfolding conspiracies threaten to plunge their journey into chaos.
Also at Culturgest, at 9:45 pm, the retrospective dedicated to Tiago Guedes begins with a screening of Blood Curse (2006), co-directed by Guedes and Frederico Serra. The filmmaker will be present for the screening, along with actors Adriano Luz and Manuela Couto.
The full programme for 6 November is available on the LEFFEST website.