A Raiz do Coração

This urban fable imagines Lisbon in the near future of 2010. Catão, a charismatic and unscrupulous nationalist politician, develops an obsession with Sílvia, a young trans woman protected by Ju, an enigmatic figure who survives through small acts of blackmail. When compromising photographs of Catão begin circulating among opposition parties, his interest in Sílvia threatens his political career. One of Paulo Rocha’s final works, A Raiz do Coração shows the experimentation that defines the second half of the filmmaker’s career. The screening is followed by a conversation with Regina Guimarães, the film’s screenwriter, and Raquel Morais of Cinemateca Portuguesa.