O Manuscrito Perdido

Directed by: José Barahona

In co-production with Refinaria Filmes

Creative Documentary, 2010

It is said that the Monastery of Cairu, a small town south of Salvador, is home to a lost manuscript by Fradique Mendes, a Portuguese poet and adventurer, and a friend of famous writer Eça de Queiroz. Fradique is known to have settled in the region in the late 19th century. For having freed all of his slaves, he was hated and persecuted by Brazilian slavers. In the urgency of his escape, he is said to have left this manuscript in Cairu, which reflected on the origins of Brazilian society and spoke out on some social issues of the time: expatriates, slavery, and the struggles of the Indians.

The film sets out in search of the lost manuscript and retraces the journey of Fradique Mendes in his escape, visiting some places that can shed light on these same issues today: the communities of descendants of African slaves, the indigenous villages where Cabral first arrived, and the camps for the homeless. Ultimately, these are social groups with a common issue for more than 500 years old: the struggle for freedom through the struggle for land ownership.

Festivais

Festivals:

2012

36ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema em São Paulo – Apresentação Especial: Documentário + Livro – São Paulo, Brasil

trinidad+tobago Film Festival – You’re in Focus – Porto f Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

2º Festival International du Film de Chercheurs – França

Ciclo de Cinema, Cenas do CES III – Coimbra, Portugal

15éme Semaine de Cinéma de Langue Portugaise – Nantes, França

Connecticut College Research Film Festival – EUA

Prémio Connecticut College 2012

Cineclube de Amarante – Amarante, Portugal

2e Festival du Film de Chercheurs – Lyon, França

Mimo – Museu da Imagem em Movimento – Leiria, Portugal

Mostra de Cinema Português Contemporâneo – São Paulo, Brasil

2011

15ª Mostra do Filme Etnográfico, Rio de Janeiro – Brasil

Filme de abertura; Prémio Tv Brasil Melhor Longa-metragem

Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, Rio de Janeiro – Brasil

35ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo, em competição – Brasil

II Edição Festival Internacional de Cinema de Cabo Verde – Cabo Verde

Centro Cultural Brasil – Cidade da Praia, Cabo Verde

13° Festival du Cinéma Brésilien de Paris – França

FESTin 2º Festival de Cinema Itinerante da Língua Portuguesa – Portugal

2010

DocLisboa – Festival Internacional de Cinema, em competição – Lisboa, Portugal

Elenco

Equipa

Elenco

Equipa