A talk show radio host has chosen emotions as his theme for tonight’s show, which proves surprisingly banal until he gets a call from an old friend. The friend accuses the host of sexually abusing his son and the atmosphere quickly turns very intense and very dark. The lead performance carries the whole film and keeps you hooked as the story unravels and escalates. Shot mostly in one room, excellent cinematography and sound design help build the suspense using just a few elements. It is not just the pedophilia theme that makes this a powerful and disturbing film—it is how this hidden secret, suddenly exposed, has altered both their lives in unimaginable ways.
Community Partner
Adriano Luz, António Fonseca, Maria João Pinho
Portugal
2021
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Sexual Violence, Child Abuse
Featured in:
International Shorts: Morality Plays
Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Credits
Producer
Sandra Faria
Screenwriter
Filipe Melo
Cinematography
Vasco Viana
Editor
Gabriela Soares
Production Design
Juan Cavia
Original Music
Filipe Melo, The Legendary Tigerman, Marante
Director
Filipe Melo
Filipe Melo is a musician, film director, and author. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and currently works as a jazz pianist, producer, and orchestrator. He has composed music for film, and directed music videos and award-winning short films. He is also a comic book author whose works have been published in the US, Brazil, France, Poland, Turkey, and Spain.