After Porto/Post/Doc presented the cine-concert of Maria do Mar (with live music by the Lisbon Sinfonietta Orchestra) last year, in the scope of the FILMar project, this year the partnership comes alive again. João Mendes and Leitão de Barros were two of the most prolific filmmakers of the regime, the former having signed dozens of institutional short films. With the sponsorship of the Executive Committee of the 5th Centenary of the Death of Infante D. Henrique, the’ Estado Novo ‘ financed various cultural activities that aimed to promote a mythological image of the Portuguese navigator, including these two titles. Filmed in a format that was rare in the panorama of cinema made in Portugal (the scope) and in exuberant colours, these films sought to promote an epic image of the nationality, its history, landscape and people. When the schemes of political propaganda once again dominate mentalities, the fascist cinema of the time and its maritime ideology must be critically reviewed in order to combat its contemporary echoes.
The films will be presented in new digital copies produced by Cinemateca Portuguesa - Museu do Cinema, as part of FILMar Project - Digitalization of the cinematographic heritage.