In this delirious sci-fi riff off of the Arabian Nights’ Tale of the Hunchback, Rivers and Abrantes submerge us in a technological dystopia reigned by Dalaya.com, a mega-corporation that forces it’s employees to ‘relax’ at company-run medieval reenactments.
FESTIVALS:
[2016] IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival (Award for Best Portuguese Short Film) [Portugal]
[2016] Locarno Film Festival [Switzerland]
[2016] São Paulo International Short Film Festival [Brazil]
[2016] Queensland Film Festival [Australia]
[2016] BFI - London Film Festival [UK]
[2016] FIFIB - Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bordeaux [France]
[2016] Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife [Brazil]
[2016] Torino Film Festival [Italy]
[2016] Short Film Festival Leuven (European Competition Jury Award) [Belgium]
[2017] Glasgow Short Film Festival [United Kingdom]
[2017] Raumstation [Germany]
[2017] Festival du cinéma de Brive (Distributors Award) [France]
[2017] BAFICI [Argentina]
[2017] Jeonju International Film Festival [South Korea]
[2017] Locarno in Los Angeles [USA]
[2017] Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival [United Kingdom]
[2017] SICILIA QUEER International New Visions Film Festival [Italy]
[2017] NexT International Film Festival [Romania]
[2017] Mostra de Cinema Português em Macau [Macao]
[2017] A Gulbenkian e o Cinema Português [Portugal]
[2017] Terra: Futuro Brilhante - Solar Galeria de Arte Cinemática [Portugal]
[2017] Cinema No Pátio - Novo Cinema Português - GNRation [Portugal]
[2017] FESTCURTAS BH - Festival Internacional de Curtas de Belo Horizonte [Brazil]
[2018] Stuttgarter Filmwinter — Festival for Expanded Media [Germany]
[2018] Filmes na Cave [Portugal]
[2018] Counter-Histories - Tate Modern [UK]
[2018] Skuelyst - Copenhagen [Denmark]
[2019] Prague Short International Film Festival [Czech Republic]
[2019] Córtex - Festival de Curtas Metragens [Portugal]
[2019] Conference - Cultural Studies Association of Australia [Australia]
[2021] Mostra De Portugal para o Mundo - Rio de Janeiro [Brazil]
Fiction, Sci-Fi
2016, Portugal, France, 29’
Script: Gabriel Abrantes, Ben Rivers
Cinematography: Jorge Quintela
Sound: Pedro Melo, Carlos Abreu
Editing: Margarida Lucas
Production: A Mutual Respect Productions (PT)
Co-production: Les Films du Bélier (FR)
Cast: Carloto Cotta, Gustavo Sumpta, Anton Skrzypiciel, Norman MacCallum, Mariana Mourato, Randolph Albright, Celia Williams, Elizabeth Bochman, Pedro Alfacinha, Jonathan Weightman, Maya Booth