50 years of Trás-os-Montes: film and conversation

This session considers the contemporary influence of filmmakers António Reis and Margarida Cordeiro through three Spanish films exploring the relationship between rural communities and the animals that accompany their cultural, economic and social organisation, crossing myth, ritual and landscape. In El becerro pintado, a Canarian village stages the biblical myth of the “golden calf”, evoking human idolatry and materialism. Rapa das bestas focuses on the physical confrontation between men and horses, driven by an old Galician tradition. Arraianos takes us to a small village between Galicia and Portugal, suspended in time and isolated by dense forest. A landscape marked by seasonal cycles and the latent presence of fire shapes the community’s life until the arrival of a stranger opens the possibility of transformation. The session is presented by Daniel Ribas, professor and researcher, and Raquel Morais, researcher.