The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada). 2017. Portugal. Directed by Pedro Pinho. Screenplay by Tiago Hespanha, Luisa Homem, Leonor Noivo, Pedro Pinho, from an idea by Jorge Silva Melo. With Carla Galvão, Joaquim Bichana Martins, Dinis Gomes, Njamy Sebastião, Américo Silva, José Smith Vargas. DCP. In Portuguese and French; English subtitles. 177 min.
Premiered during the Cannes film festival’s Directors Fortnight, The Nothing Factory takes inspiration from Portugal’s revolutionary films to show a country plagued by bankruptcy and a harsh financial austerity program designed by the 21st-century troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the IMF. Pinho joins efforts with the collective film group Terratreme to bring together professional actors and real-life workers in a musical meditation on capitalism, unemployment, and the challenges of a community that sees history repeating itself as dreams of hope and solidarity are abandoned.