Films

Aljezur, 1943. Celeste, a young orphan, is accused of witchcraft and of reviving an ancient curse that once plagued the village. Though innocent, she is forced to embark on a journey into the dark depths of her past, where she will uncover the true malevolent force behind the growing Nazi presence in the western Algarve. Co-produced with Luxembourg for RTP, the project is signed by Guilherme Branquinho (winner of the Best Horror Short Film award at MOTELX 2022) and Leone Niel. It is a compendium of true stories from the Aljezur region, weaving together visits by Nazi officers and witch hunts, with its central axis the recreation of the enigmatic “Bailes do Vidigal” — pagan rituals led by a supposed witch, culminating in orgies and states of trance. The last of these dances, in 1929, ended in madness and bloodshed.