fotografia ©Mário J. Negrão
THIS PLACE
a documentary by
Mário Melo Costa
PREVIEW
Cinema S. Jorge, Lisbon
July 15, 2023 at 9:30 pm
With the presence of director Mário Melo Costa and director and artistic director of Companhia Cepa Torta Miguel Maia
DEBUT
Cine Teatro da Mina de S. Domingos
September 15, 2023 at 10 pm
September 16, 2023 at 7 pm and 10 pm
Free entry subject to room capacity
Reservations and collection of tickets at the Casa do Mineiro
Rua de Santa Isabel, 30 Mina de S. Domingos
+351 961940458
Duration: 60 min
Age rating: M/6
This Place is a documentary that takes us on a unique journey through the landscape and people of Mina de São Domingos, a location that was once one of the largest socio-economic centers in the country.
The film accompanies Companhia Cepa Torta in the process of creating a theatrical show in collaboration with that community, an event that was the culmination of an artistic project that was installed in the Mine for about two years.
We do a deep dive into the creative process, realizing what happens to the memories of the earth when given back to people through the eyes of contemporary creation. We closely follow the intense and dedicated work of creator Miguel Maia who, together with his artistic team, collaborated with the community, researching their memories and narratives with the aim of creating a theater show that celebrates the identity and resilience of the region .
This Place is a journey that crosses the strange omnipresence of a place and its magnetic and invisible power, with the work of a group of people who are strangers to it - the artists. Can art in this context help rebuild connections and revitalize communities? Can the simple act of listening initiate a path to reach the other side of landscapes and forgotten places? And can the contemporary gaze contribute to revealing cultural richness and creating new futures for communities unfairly treated by time and history?
In the inspiring atmosphere of Mina de S. Domingos, this is the incredible journey of a community of people going through a process of research, questioning and creation together.
CREDITS
Director | Mario Melo Costa
Sound | Victor Ribeiro
Assembly | Joao Nunes
Artistic Direction of Cepa Torta and Malacate Company | Miguel Maia
Production Coordination | Ines Achando
Executive production| Beatriz Sousa
Communication | Sonia Godinho
Press office | Mafalda Simões
For the “Box of Questions”:
Text, Dramaturgy and Staging | Miguel Maia
Creation Support | Sofia Cabrita
Interpretation | Carolina Cardoso Faias, Telmo Mendes, Tiago Boto
and Ana Maria Gonçalves, Ângelo Duarte, António Dias Braz, António Viegas, Camila Duarte, Carolina Álvaro, Conceição Batista, Custódia Lampreia, Fátima Santos, Fernanda Cavaco, Fernanda Cavaco, Idália Rodrigues, Isabel Campos, Januário Martins, Jesuína Santos, Joaquim Cavaco, José Alexandre, José Braz, José Fabião, José Pereira Gonçalves, José Raposo, Madalena Félix, Manuel Gonçalves, Manuel Marques, Maria dos Anjos Gonçalves, Mariano Horta, Nuno Martins, Reinaldo Batista, Sofyia Aleksandrovna
Scenography | Sara Franqueira, Julia Ebert
Execution of scenography | Fp Solutions, Fernando Miguel, Gonçalo Costa, Nelo Costa, Maria dos Anjos Costumes | Maria Luiz
Costume support | Isabel Valente and Maria José Baptista
Execution of Costumes | Margarida Viana
Props | Julia Ebert, Maria Luiz, Sara Franqueira
Light Design and Operation | Diana dos Santos
Light Design assistant | Manuel Abrantes
Sound Design and Original Music | Pedro Freixo
Video | Mario Jeronimo Negrao
Photography | Sonia Godinho
Design | João Vasco Maio
Production Coordination | Tatiana Lemos
Executive Production | Beatriz Sousa
Technical Director | João Chicó
Light and sound technician | Antonio Sofia
Production Support | Inês Achando, Susana Afonso Lopes
Álvaro Horta, Ângelo Horta, Daniel Ruivo, Jorge Horta - Mértola City Council
Sara Ribeiro, Susana Gomes - Serrão Martins Foundation
Alina Rukosueva, Duarte Martins dos Santos, Henrique Martins dos Santos, Inês Costa, Ivone Gomes, Luísa Mafalda Andrade, Margarida Martins dos Santos, Maria Clara Palma, Maria Fernandes Ribeiro, Pedro Martins dos Santos, Uma Bugasheva - participants in the Theater Workshop
Sara Luís - cook at the Retired Association
To find out more about the show Caixa de Questions click here
Promoter | Cepa Torta Company
Financers | DGArtes - Portuguese Republic and Mértola City Council
Support | Cinema S. Jorge/EGEAC
Partner Media | Antena 2
Acknowledgments | Instituto de Formação, Investigação e Criação Teatral - IFICT, Marvão Gest
Special thanks to the community of Mina de S. Domingos.
Age Rating | M6
fotografia ©Mário J. Negrão
ABOUT
Mario Melo Costa
Mário Melo Costa was born in Lisbon in 1971. He studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon in the Sculpture course and for the Erasmus project, at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia in Italy. His taste for Cinematography led him to take the Advanced Cinematography course at EICTV in Cuba and the Kodak Film Academy in Paris. Since 2007, he has created animated films and video installations for various musical projects by Ela Bauman with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Music Company. He has also worked in plays and operas with directors such as Daniel Tanson, Waut Koeken, Erica Mandillo, Caroline Petrick, Carla Maciel, Gonçalo Waddington and Marco Paiva. His video installation works have been presented on stages such as the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grand Theater du Luxembourg, the Vlaamse Oper in Antwerp and Gent, the Staatsoper in Vienna, the CCB - Centro Cultural de Belém, the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II among others. Still invited by Ela Bauman, he created the video installations for the operas "The Two Fiddlers" by Peter Maxwell Davies and "To the Moon and Back", by Andrew Norman, both directed by Sir Simon Rattle and presented at the Berlin Philharmonic.
In recent years he has created and collaborated more intensely with Emilie Lauwers and Marco Paiva in various theatrical and musical productions both in Belgium and Portugal.
Among others, "BABEL" at The Het Paleis, "Fairy Queen" by Purcel with Vox Luminis, "Aldebarã" by Alex Cassal and Zoo Story by Edward Albee at Teatro Nacional D.Maria II stand out.
At the same time, he continued to work in cinema, as a director and director of photography.
He illustrated the technical book Methods and Procedures of the Image Assistant by Tony Costa and taught between 2012 and 2013 the discipline of Audiovisual Production at ESAD - Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Matosinhos - where he taught workshops and masterclasses for postgraduate students.
In collaboration with the composer Claude Lenners, he made the film "[tʃes]" (Chess) and with Susana Sá the short film “Bicho Vai”. He also directed “7 Poems for a New World” in collaboration with the musician Fernando Mota and some theater plays and the animation film “A Cidade Vista de Minha Janela” for RTP2. He also made the documentary films “How to Draw a City” - PARTIS - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and “Caligula Died. Not me” for TNDMII and National Dramatic Center - Spain.
Photography was always present in his life, both as a director and as a director of photography. He worked in films such as “Capitão Falcão” by João Leitão, “No Trace Of Accelerator”, by Emily Wardill, “To Attempt to Become Other, Secretly or Not” and “Fossil” by James Newitt, “The Devil's Work” by Carlos Motta , “Shallow Water Blackout” by Trygve Luktvasslimo, “Transfugo” and “A Margem” by Rodrigo Tavares, “Leonor" by Claudia Clemente, the series “Armário” by André Godinho, “Madalena” by Sofia Bairrão and “Attunements” by Matthew Wilson.
In 2022 he published with Fernando Mota and Vasco Gato the book “Passagem Secreta” with photographs of his own and at the invitation of Vasco Gato he photographed for his book “Contágio”.
Over the years, he received some awards for his work as director of photography, including the AIP award - Best Cinematography for Art Film - 7 Poems for a New World and SOPHIA - Best Art Direction with Nuno Tomaz and João Leitão in Captain Falcon and SOPHIA - Nominated for Best Editing in Captain Falcon.
Since 2017 he has been a member of the board of AIP - Portuguese Cinematographers Society.