Born in 1974 in Portugal, Sandro Aguilar studied film at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. In 1998 he founded the production company O Som e a Fúria. His short films have won awards at festivals, such as La Biennale di Venezia, Locarno, Vila do Conde, and have been shown in Rotterdam, Belfort, Montreal, Clermont-Ferrand among others. A ZONA is Sandro Aguilar’s first fiction feature film.
UPRISE
Synopsis
Each character in A Zona has to deal with the loss of a loved one. A man observes his father’s body lying on the white hospital sheets, only moving because of the artificial respirator that keeps him alive. A panic-stricken pregnant woman holds on tight to her husband in an ambulance, as medical staff try to resuscitate him. In an apartment, the man tries to get used to the disembodied space where his father lived. The father’s dog is still there, but his presence in no way attenuates the feeling of profound emptiness that emanates from the place. A couple expecting a baby live in the remote countryside, but one night the husband goes out and does not come back. These men and women seem anaesthetised by their overwhelming grief. Survivors walking in spaces almost devoid of life, they stumble forward, seeking a place to rest.
Director's Bio-filmography
UPRISE [2008] • ARCHIVE [2007] • THE SERPENT [2005] • REMAINS [2002] • IN BETWEEN [2001] • MOTIONLESS [2000] • CLOSE [1998]
Theatrical release
PORTUGUESE RELEASE ON MAY THE 7TH 2009
Film Festivals
Indielisboa’08 – International Competition [Portugal, 2008]
61st Film Festival Locarno – Filmmakers of the Present Competition [Switzerland, 2008]
Director's Note
When we lose someone: the places left empty, the objects, the memories, the interrupted possibilities; become the manifestation of one same conscience that unites us to the walls, to the shadow, to the ghosts. It is a regenerating omission because we return and reinvent before abandoning. By putting everything at the same level this territory is also immensely liberating.
UPRISE at The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival
Sandro Aguilar’s strange, elliptical debut feature more than fulfils the promise revealed in his numerous experimental shorts.
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Cast
Isabel Abreu • António Pedroso • Gustavo Sumpta • Cátia Afonso • Tiago Barbosa • Guilherme Pina Cabral • João Nicolau • Joana Brandão • Manuel Mesquita • Bruno Duarte • Adriana Queiroz • Francisco Nascimento • Tomé Mendonça • Marta Mateus • Nuno Bernardo • Dinarte Branco • Pedro Lamas • Victor Jorge
Crew
written, edited and directed by Sandro Aguilar • cinematography Paulo Ares • sound Pedro Melo • continuity Miguel Fonseca • set director Fernando Areal, Carlos Subtil • wardrobe Sílvia Siopa • hair & make-up Araceli Fuente • sound editor Miguel Martins, Sandro Aguilar • mix Miguel Martins • production manager Ângela Cerveira • producers Luís Urbano, Sandro Aguilar
35MM | 1:1:85 | Dolby SRD | 99’
© O SOM E A FÚRIA 2008
