Director | Basil da Cunha
Scripts | Basil da Cunha
Director of photography | Vasco Viana
Editing | Basil da Cunha
Sound designer | Rafael Cardoso
Main cast | Jason Varela, Camila Diniz
Producer | Edgar Medina
Production company | Arquipélago Filmes
After a violent police raid in a poor clandestine neighbourhood in Lisbon, a 7-year-old girl seeks to find her missing older brother. At the same time, a young newly released ex-convict tries to start anew, free from a life of crime. The fate of these two will cross in the worst way.
About the director:
Swiss director of Portuguese origin, Basil da Cunha was born in 1985. Alongside his studies in political science and sociology, he made several self-produced short films before co-founding Thera Production. In 2009, he began his film training at the Head University in Geneva.
In his first year, Basil made the film “A Côté”, which was nominated for the Prix du Cinéma Suisse 2010 and awarded the Best National Film Award at Curtas Vila do Conde 2010. At the end of 2010, he filmed “Sunfish” in Lisbon. This film was presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Cannes) in 2011. In 2012, he directed “Os Vivos Também Choram” and was selected, for the second consecutive year, at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Cannes. Encouraged by the special mention of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs jury and numerous international awards, he made his first feature film “After the Night”, with its world premiere at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, in 2013. The film was also shown at the São Paulo Film Festival and at the Locarno Festival.
Basil gave a first workshop in the Film Department, Haute École D’art et de Design – Geneva (HEAD), before joining the team in 2013 on a permanent basis.
In 2014, Basil da Cunha directed “Nuvem Negra”, an experimental film within the framework of the Biennale of the Moving Image (Geneva). His most recent feature film, “The End of the World”, had its world premiere in Locarno and was screened at other prestigious festivals, such as Busan, Milan and São Paulo. It was awarded at Les Arcs and Valladolid before winning Best Cinematography at the Prix du Cinéma Suisse in 2020.