Arabian Nights – Vol. 1, The Restless One
(As Mil e uma Noites - vol. 1, o inquieto)
Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland 2015 / 125’
director: Miguel Gomes
screenplay: Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, Telmo Churro
cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Mário Castanheira (The Story of the Cockerel and the Fire)
editing: Telmo Churro, Miguel Gomes, Pedro Marques
sound: Vasco Pimentel
cast: Crista Alfaiate, Adriano Luz, Américo Silva, Rogério Samora, Carloto Cotta, Fernanda Loureiro
producer: Luís Urbano, Sandro Aguilar, Thomas Ordonneau, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade, Elena Tatti, Thierry Spicher, Elodie Brunner
production: O Som e a Fúria, Shellac Sud, Komplizen Film, Box Productions
awards: Cannes IFF 2015 - Palm Dog; Sydney Film Festival 2015 - Best Film; 15. T-Mobile New Horizons IFF 2015 - FIPRESCI Award; Seville European Film Festival 2015 - Best Film
http://www.as1001noites.com/en/
Polish distributor: Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty
release date: February 26, 2016
Located on the edge of Europe, Portugal seems to exist not only at the end of the continent but, as some believe, at the end of the world. As Andrzej Stasiuk wrote, the former empire is today leading "a somewhat unreal life beyond the mainstream of history and events," longing for fulfillment and dreaming of past glory. The unreal nature attributed to Portugal is one of the subjects dealt with in the triptych by Miguel Gomes, who, in a loose interpretation, applies the poetic structure of A Thousand and One Nights to his homeland's recent history. In discussing contemporary Portugal, he focuses on the problem of the economic crisis that hit his country particularly hard in 2013-2014. He introduces this topic at the very beginning of his film odyssey in a documentary-style look at shipyard workers in Viana do Castelo who were the victims of mass layoffs. Their story is intertwined with that of Scheherazade, one of the many unusual figures in his gallery of curiosities, which also includes, among others, the figure of an African shaman, an exploding whale, and a dying siren.
Miguel Gomes
Born in Lisbon in 1972, Miguel Gomes is a director and screenwriter. After completing his studies at the School of Film and Theater in Lisbon, he spent several years working as a film critic. His short films have been screened at numerous festivals, including at Rotterdam, Locarno, Vienna, Oberhausen, and Buenos Aires. One of his first full-length feature films, Our Beloved Month of August (2008), took part in the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes and was screened at more than 40 other festivals. Tabu brought him even more acclaim, capturing an Alfred Bauer Prize and a FIPRESCI at the Berlinale.
Selected filmography
1999 Entretanto (short)
2004 A Cara Que Mereces / The Face You Deserve
2008 Masz ukochany sierpień / Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto / Our Beloved Month of August
2012 Tabu
2013 Redemption (doc., short)