#7 THE METAMORPHOSIS OF BIRDS (R: Catarina Vasconcelos, 101 min, PT, 2020)

How can nature be dead? Portuguese director Catarina Vasconcelos raises that question in her debut film A METAMORFOSE FOS PÁSSAROS. It is a visual voyage through the history of her family. Catarina created cinematic sculptures that represent scenes of the Vasconcelos', including herself. It is a hybrid film: half documentary, half fiction, shot on 16mm and digitally. Premiered at Berlinale 2020.

What is it about? "Beatriz married Henrique on the day of her 21st birthday. Henrique, a naval officer, would spend long periods at sea. Ashore, Beatriz, who learned everything from the verticality of plants, took great care of the roots of their six children. The oldest son, Jacinto, my father, dreamed he could be a bird. One day, suddenly, Beatriz died. My mom didn’t die suddenly, but she too died when I was 17 years-old. On that day, me and my father met in the loss of our mothers and our relationship was no longer just that of father and daughter... In a way we were both semi-orphaned. By understanding how my father came to terms with the loss of his mother made me understand my own sense of loss better. It also brought us closer,” Catarina told Variety.
Enjoy the listening.

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