Ornitológ
fiction / 2016 / Portugal, France, Brazil / col. / 118 min.
Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
Screenplay: João Pedro Rodrigues, João Rui Guerra da Mata
Photography: Rui Poças
Editor: Raphaël Lefèvre
Music: Séverine Ballon
Cast: Paul Hamy, Xelo Cagiao, João Pedro Rodrigues, Chan Wen • Han Wen, Čchan Suan • Chan Suan • Juliane Elting, Flora Bulcao, Isabelle Puntel, Alexandre Alverca, André Freitas, David Silva Pereira
Fernando is a lonely ornithologist heading to the remote parts of northern Portugal to find an endangered species of black stork. While kayaking down a river, he is swept away in the rapids, and the straightforward journey suddenly turns in a completely different direction. His rescue by two pilgrims becomes a trap, and the dense forest environment transforms into a setting for meeting characters who will guide the lost man through a transformation. As a result, when the unexpected journey ends, Fernando will never be the same again... Director João Pedro Rodrigues plunges with his latest film into a cinematically breath-taking homoerotic essay referencing the lives of saints, especially St Anthony of Padua, through queer interpretations and visual references. Rodrigues, one of the most distinctive queer filmmakers today, won the Best Director Award at the Locarno IFF. (source: Mezipatra)