Paulo Branco talks to the past (in a great interview). And ZDB and Moonspell’s birthdays
“For many years I was even accused of being the center that dried up everything around me. I never wanted that, people came to me because I had some ability to promote. At this moment I feel much better than in the past: I know that cinema in Portugal can exist regardless of me existing.
They are words of Paulo Branco in the (long) interview he gave to Vasco Câmara and which appears on the cover of this edition of Ípsilon.
He has produced more than 300 films and worked with renowned directors, such as David Cronenberg, Wim Wenders, Chantal Akerman, Philippe Garrel, Pedro Costa… In recent years, the producer of “auteur cinema” has become an author of “cinema producer”. It’s like that in The Roles of Englishwhich he commissioned from director Sérgio Graciano.
“A film that I produce only exists in this form because I was the producer, for better or for worse. I learned that from the old producers, when I started: the space for a producer to be creative. That has always existed. But now. .. I don’t adapt to all the European rules, with the bureaucracies, the committees. My space for risk and freedom must continue to exist, I believe and that I want them to exist”, he says. More: “It was for the risk that we were praised in the past; today we are seen almost as criminals if we embark on foolish projects.”
In this dossier, we also have the criticism of The Roles of English and a look by Isabel Lucas at the literary legacy of Ruy Duarte de Carvalhothe author of one of the books that inspires Sérgio Graciano’s film.
It’s an “anomaly”, it’s an “oasis”, it’s a “miracle”, artists and programmers tell us. Celebrating 30 years, the Zé dos Bois Gallery it is “an independent institutional space”, essential in the cultural life of Lisbon. In addition to presenting concerts or exhibitions, he knew how to create networks and activate other agitators.
Early 90s, Amadora. With a drum kit bought “on installments at a stationery store”, a bass purchased “at a Chinese store” and an “old” guitar, Morbid God was born. The first steps of extreme metal were taking place in Portugal. The group would change its name to Moonspellwhich would become, over the years, album after album, the most international Portuguese rock band. It’s been 35 years since the genesis of Moonspell, but Fernando Ribeiro, the only member since the beginning, still has dreams. They play Saturday at Meo Arena, with the Lisbon Sinfonietta Orchestra.
In the new Gulbenkian Modern Art Centerin Lisbon, “architecture made its current rhetoric of social aggregation and climate awareness prevail. But there is a price”, writes architecture critic Ana Vaz Milheiro, in a detailed analysis of Kengo Kuma’s project.
Also in this Epsilon:
— Cinema: Nora Ephronthe fairy godmother of the modern romantic comedy; film reviews Disco Boy, The Queen’s Game e The Devil’s Bath; and a reflection on the flop Joker: Madness for Two;
— Desire: a book edited by actress Gillian Anderson about sexual fantasies and deep feelings;
— Music: the tour Still 25 of David Fonseca; the return of The Rite of Trio (still only available on printed edition); and the new album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor;
— Photography: Larry Towell delves into Ukrainian history to look at the war;
— Criticisms of Origamithe new novel by José Gardeazabaland so on Panoramathe exhibition of Jorge Queiroz on display at the Bruno Múrias gallery, in Lisbon.
And not only. Happy reading!
Ípsilon no Spotify: our choices; Readings: our book website; Cinecartaz: everything about cinema
