The film by director Margarida Paias will have its international premiere at the 55th edition of the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
After its world premiere at Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, the short film "Rui Carlos’"(Margarida Paias, 2025, Portugal, FIC, 15') is preparing for its international premiere in the official selection of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, as part of the Preludes section of the festival's official selection.
This international premiere marks a decisive moment in the film's journey, which will now circulate in a curatorial context attentive to new forms and languages of contemporary cinema. This special programme of the IFFR brings together works that stand out for their unique perspective and artistic consistency, promoting dialogue between short and feature films based on formal and sensory affinities.
In "Rui Carlos’", the director draws on a real episode from her father's youth to construct a fiction permeated by memory, childhood and intergenerational transmission. The film evokes a childhood spent in a neighbourhood where boys roam freely, exploring the innocence, cruelty and carefreeness typical of that age. Taking on a structure similar to that of a short story, the film reflects on the desire to belong, admiration and fear, crossing inherited memories and personal experiences. More than an individual portrait, Rui Carlos asserts itself as a search for the inner child and a symbolic farewell to childhood.
With an observational and refined approach, the film favours long shots, direct sound and camera proximity, creating a space where the memories of the director and her father can coexist and converge through cinema.
