Film festivals and film clubs are now more important than ever because "there is a lot that is presented as cinema", although it is not, on the various online platforms. Educating the public, especially the younger public, who almost only get their information from the internet, is the main function of festivals and film clubs, according to Manuel Bernardo Cabral, director of Curta Açores Festival.

 
The 14th edition of the oldest continuous Azorean film festival is taking place this year between September 25 and 30 at the Ribeiragrandense Theater, with 28 films in competition (see box).

Present at this year's Curta Açores will be the president and vice-president of the Portuguese Federation of Film Clubs, Lurdes Martins and Isa Mateus respectively, who will be giving a Masterclass, precisely on the place of film clubs in today's world. For Manuel Bernardo Cabral, the presence of the Portuguese Federation of Film Societies at the Curta Açores Festival shows that "we are increasingly known at a national level, within the festivals and film club circles".

Manuel Bernardo Cabral is also a member of the Ribeira Grande Film Club, the only one with regular activity in São Miguel at the moment.
As in previous editions, Curta Açores will pay tribute to professionals related to cinema or audiovisuals, with this year's honorees being actor Miguel Damião and director José França, both from the Azores.

Miguel Damião recently took part in the popular Netflix series 'Rabo de Peixe', directed by fellow Azorean Augusto Fraga, having developed his acting career mainly in theater and audiovisual, but also in cinema. For his part, José França has stand out in audiovisual production, being one of the founders of the company 'Iris', in addition to his work at RTP-Açores. However, he has always been "a man of cinema, with fantastic cinematographic knowledge and culture", as Manuel Bernardo Cabral points out.

This year's Curta Açores will also feature a Masterclass by Anabela Oliveira on the role of comedy in old Portuguese cinema and its legacy in expressions we still use today.

Who does not remember, for example, the famous 'Ó Evaristo, tens cá disto' from the movie 'O Pátio das Cantigas', starring Vasco Santana and António Silva? As Manuel Bernardo Cabral explains, this Masterclass, which will take place on September 28th in the morning for schoolchildren and on the 29th in the evening for the general public, is designed to 'archaeologize' these and other expressions that we sometimes use without knowing where they came from.

28 films in competition at the 14th edition of Curta Açores Festival

The 14th edition of the Azores International Short Film Festival - Curta Açores 2023 - will take place as usual at the Ribeiragrandense Theater, this year between September 25 and 30.

The opening of the Curta Açores Festival took place on Monday, September 25, in an edition that has 28 films in competition in the short fiction, documentary and animation categories, representing 12 countries: Iran, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, France, Cape Verde, Estonia, Australia and Portugal.


This number exceeds that of last year's, due to the notoriety that the festival is gaining. In addition, says the director of Curta Açores Festival, Manuel Bernardo Cabral, "we are not interested in bringing just any film to the festival, we are interested in bringing the best we can find in short films". Curta Açores also includes films specifically aimed at youth and children, in addition to films aimed at the general public.

The closing ceremony of Curta Açores 2023 will take place on Saturday, September 30, at 8:30 p.m., with the awards ceremony and tributes to distinguished guests. There will also be a preview of the Azorean short film 'Horário em Branco', directed by Manuel Bernardo Cabral, which this year was part of the Official Portuguese Film Section of Fantasporto, one of the main national festivals focusing on fantastic cinema. This turns out to be the only Azorean film to be screened at this year's Curta Açores and out of competition, a situation that could be reversed in the coming years, if a project linked to the training of directors (to be developed by the festival) can move forward.

The production of Curta Açores 2023 has the support of Ribeira Grande City Council, the Regional Government, through the Regional Directorate for Culture and the Cinema and Audiovisual Institute (ICA), and also counts on the collaboration of Ribeira Grande’s Schools.