Will-o'-the-Wisp
O.V. in Portuguese and English with Spanish and English subtitles
In a future Portugal where the monarchy has been restored, the king recalls his past in what becomes an explicit erotic fantasy made into a film. The fire department stars in this vibrant ecoqueer and post-colonial musical where desire breaks down barriers of class and race, the protagonists recreate in the flesh the unleashed gestures of the art of Caravaggio and Francis Bacon, the fight against fire leads to an environmentalist reflection winking at Greta Thunberg. The precedents in Cannes allow us to predict that the screenings of the new film by SEFF regular João Pedro Rodrigues will remain as one of the most celebrated in the history of the festival.
Direction: João Pedro Rodrigues
Script: João Pedro Rodrigues
Cinematography: Rui Poças
Editing: Mariana Gaivão
Music: Paulo Bragança, Oceano Cruz
Art Direction: João Rui Guerra da Mata
Cast: Mauro Costa, André Cabral, Joel Branco, Oceano Cruz, Margarida Via-Nova
Production Company: House on Fire, Terratreme Filmes
Distributor: Vitrine Filmes
World Sales: Films Boutique
João Pedro Rodrigues is a filmmaker and artist from Lisbon born in 1966. A graduate of the Lisbon Film School, he has written and directed numerous short films, and has five feature films to his name. His work delves into the divergence of human desire through different genres, including films such as Phantom (2000), his debut that had its premiere in the Official Selection of the Biennale; The Last Time I Saw Macao that was at the SEFF in 2013; or The Ornithologist (2016), winner of the Silver Leopard at Locarno in 2016. Rodrigues’ work is acknowledged by the main international festivals and can be seen at the MoMa and the Cinemateca Portuguesa. The filmmaker presents his new film Will-o'-the-Wisp at the SEFF 2022, which had its premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.
