Portuguese Cinema: Revolution Hunters

Film

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The Law of the Land (A Lei da Terra). 1977. Portugal. Directed by Grupo Zero. Courtesy Real Ficção

Time of Darkness (A Noite Saiu à Rua) 1988. Portugal. Directed by Abi Feijó. DCP. 4 min.

The Revolution Hunter (A Caça Revoluções). 2014. Portugal. Directed by Margarida Rêgo. DCP. In Portuguese; English subtitles. 11 min.

Revolution (Revolução). 1975. Portugal. Directed by Ana Hatherly. DCP. 11 min.

The Law of the Land (A Lei da Terra). 1977. Portugal. Directed by Grupo Zero (Acácio de Almeida, Alberto Seixas Santos, Fernando Belo, Joaquim Furtado, José Luís Carvalhosa, Leonel Efe, Lia Gama, Paola Porru, Serras Gajo, Solveig Nordlund, Teresa Caldas). 4K digital restoration by Cinemateca Portuguesa; courtesy Cinemateca Portuguesa. In Portuguese; English subtitles. 67 min.

Dreams of a socialist society in which individuals become stronger through collective struggle inspired Portugal’s filmmakers to unite in groups to shoot films dedicated to the working class. Among them, Grupo Zero was one of the most proficient, contributing documentaries on the country’s new life of renewed political discourse and aesthetics. The Law of the Land depicts the rise and fall of Portugal’s Land Reform—when landless farm workers occupied millions of acres owned by absentee landowners—showing the country’s utopian ideals of a communal, class-free society threatened by a shift toward a capitalist economy. Post-revolutionary blues are also depicted in Abi Feijó’s animated short Time of Darkness and Margarida Rêgo’s The Revolution Hunter, while Ana Hatherly’s experimental Revolution depicts the euphoric chants and powerful street art that spread throughout the country in 1974.

This film accompanies The Ongoing Revolution of Portuguese Cinema.

Past events

Wed, Nov 6, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Sun, Nov 3, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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