artes@ucp.pt
(+351) 226 196 240
Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Rua Diogo Botelho, n.º 1327
4169-005 Porto
EA / Gulbenkian
Advanced Training Course in Film and Television Directing
The School of Arts and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation organised an Advanced Training Course in Film and Television Directing to be held between September and December 2022, in Porto. The students were accompanied by five directors, who came to the School of Arts to talk about their work in a masterclass, but also to conduct individual tutorials on their current projects.
Heading up this group of teachers are Atom Egoyan, Lucrecia Martel and Céline Sciamma - all key names in contemporary fiction cinema and with experience in various artistic fields - as well as Portuguese filmmakers Marco Martins and João Canijo (whose work needs no introduction).
The films by these directors show us the complexity of contemporary societies - among them, The Headless Woman (Martel), Portrait of a Girl on Fire (Sciamma), The Radiant Future (Egoyan), São Jorge (Martins) or Blood of My Blood (Canijo) - and the tensions of human beings in the face of the difficulties the world presents.
To complement these director-tutors, the course also featured a series of creatives from the various areas of film production: Pedro Lopes (scriptwriting and showrunning), Rui Poças (cinematography), Luís Urbano (production), João Rui Guerra da Mata (Art Direction), Mariana Gaivão (editing), Andreia Bertini (colour correction) and Graça Castanheira (directing and screenwriting). They are joined by creatives, programmers and managers with vast experience in television and cinema: Nuno Artur Silva and Teresa Paixão.
BIOGRAPHIES
Lucrecia Martel
The Argentinian director is one of the most important contemporary filmmakers, and her films have premiered at the main film festivals. From The Swamp (2001) to Zama (2017), Martel has consolidated her position as a creator of fictional atmospheres that portray the claustrophobia and loneliness of our times.
Atom Egoyan
Nominated for two Oscars for his film The Bright Future (1997), Atom Egoyan is a Canadian filmmaker of Armenian descent who followed the revival of American indie cinema during the 1990s. He is a multifaceted artist, with works for cinema, television, theatre, opera and artistic installations. His work deals above all with alienation and the impact of technology on modern life.
Céline Sciamma
One of France's most promising filmmakers, Céline Sciamma surprised the film world with Portrait of a Girl on Fire (2019), a queer drama set in the world of period film (late 18th century), which premiered in the official competition at Cannes. Bando de Raparigas (2014) or Petite Maman (2021) are works that demonstrate a willingness to look at the female universe and the fluidity of their identities.
Marco Martins
Portuguese artist and filmmaker Marco Martins has developed a diverse body of work that goes beyond classic cinema to include television, theatre, performance and installation. Among his films, Alice (2005), his first feature, was one of the most celebrated films of the decade, and São Jorge (2016) showed the hidden face of the great crisis of 2008-2012. Dealing with characters in danger, the filmmaker examines the most intimate side of our society.
João Canijo
One of Portugal's most important filmmakers, João Canijo has a long body of work in which he places his characters to discuss the social changes in Portugal, and from which he demonstrates the subterranean violence of society (as in Noite Escura, 2004, or Sangue do Meu Sangue, 2011). Having already been in the official selections at Cannes and Venice, Canijo also has a refined method of working with actors. He was also a theatre director.
Luís Urbano
One of the most important Portuguese film producers, Luís Urbano has developed his activity around O Som e a Fúria, one of the most important production houses today. His experience spans several films over two decades of work, many of them award-winning or made in co-production. Among others, he has produced films by Miguel Gomes, Manoel de Oliveira, Salomé Lamas, Ira Sachs and Lucrecia Martel. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Pedro Lopes
One of Portugal's most renowned showrunners and responsible for the first Portuguese series produced for Netflix: Glória (2021). Since 2007, he has been Content Director at SP Televisão. He has written for cinema and television, with more than twenty titles to his credit, including short and feature films, mini-series, series and soap operas. His work has been featured in the main international television festivals, such as the International Emmy Awards.
Graça Castanheira
For over two decades, Graça Castanheira has built a solid career in documentary cinema. Highlights include the films Angst (2010), A Rua da Estrada (2012) and the documentary series Herdeiros de Saramago (2020). She is currently a lecturer at the School of Theatre and Cinema.
Rui Poças
Perhaps one of Portugal's most international directors of photography, Rui Poças has an enviable CV of collaborations with the likes of Miguel Gomes and João Pedro Rodrigues. He has worked on many Brazilian and Argentinian productions, having photographed films for Lucrecia Martel or Ira Sachs. He has also worked in advertising.
João Rui Guerra da Mata
Best known for the films he has directed - either solo (O Que Arde Cura) or as a duo with João Pedro Rodrigues (A Última Vez que Vi Macau) - João Rui Guerra da Mata is also an art director, especially on films by João Pedro Rodrigues and Carlos Conceição. He was also a teacher in this area at the School of Theatre and Cinema.
Mariana Gaivão
A filmmaker with a body of work including several short films, Mariana Gaivão also has a career as an editor, particularly for films by Marco Martins, João Pedro Rodrigues and Carlos Conceição.
Andreia Bertini
One of the most active colour correction creatives in the Portuguese industry, with over a hundred credits for both film and television. She has worked with the main contemporary Portuguese filmmakers.
Nuno Artur Silva
Founder of the collective Produções Fictícias, Nuno Artur Silva has extensive experience in writing and producing for film and television. He was also a director of RTP between 2015 and 2018, and Secretary of State for Cinema, Audiovisual and Media between 2019 and 2022.
Teresa Paixão
Teresa Paixão is the current director of RTP2, for which she has managed content for more than two decades. Numerous film and television projects have passed through her hands, which RTP2 has co-produced.
Partnership
