A talk show radio host has chosen emotions as his theme for tonight’s show, which proves surprisingly banal until he gets a call from an old friend. The friend accuses the host of sexually abusing his son and the atmosphere quickly turns very intense and very dark. The lead performance carries the whole film and keeps you hooked as the story unravels and escalates. Shot mostly in one room, excellent cinematography and sound design help build the suspense using just a few elements. It is not just the pedophilia theme that makes this a powerful and disturbing film—it is how this hidden secret, suddenly exposed, has altered both their lives in unimaginable ways.
Community Partner
Adriano Luz, António Fonseca, Maria João Pinho
Portugal
2021
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Sexual Violence, Child Abuse
Featured in:
International Shorts: Morality Plays
Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.
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Chez Jolie Coiffure
Having immigrated to Belgium from Cameroon, Sabine manages Chez Jolie Coiffure. Her salon patrons, many of them undocumented immigrants, are not only be made to feel beautiful but can also escape the daily difficulties and harsh realities of their lives.
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Atlantics
In Dakar, Ada loves Souleiman but has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada's wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. It seems Souleiman has returned.
Credits
Producer
Sandra Faria
Screenwriter
Filipe Melo
Cinematography
Vasco Viana
Editor
Gabriela Soares
Production Design
Juan Cavia
Original Music
Filipe Melo, The Legendary Tigerman, Marante
Director
Filipe Melo
Filipe Melo is a musician, film director, and author. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and currently works as a jazz pianist, producer, and orchestrator. He has composed music for film, and directed music videos and award-winning short films. He is also a comic book author whose works have been published in the US, Brazil, France, Poland, Turkey, and Spain.