OS OLHOS DO MEU AMOR (THE EYES OF MY LOVE) / CANADA , PORTUGAL / SOUTHERN U.S. PREMIERE

Dedicated to his grandmother, Silveira's film captures the feeling of the Campo Maior paper flower festival in the intimate way only a local could do. The film is a meditation on a cultural phenomenon that is almost as calming to watch as the methodical process of crafting the paper flowers appears to be. On a volunteer basis, once every four years, the members of the small town of Alentegjo, Portugal slave away over intricate wire and paper flowers that look deceivingly real in order to deck the streets completely. This strange mirage is made possible thanks to the people of Campo Maior who gather for months to transform their village into the image of their dreams.

Portuguese with English subtitles.

Director Biography

My professional experience began while still at school, as a photographer for surveys of architecture and its natural environment. Afterwards I designed the layout of the books that resulted thence and other graphic design productions. My interest in video as a language led me to an artist residence and a nine-month internship in Nodar, in the eastern mountains of Portugal, where I directed a movie inspired by the way people built and inhabited this place. The movies I made afterwards explored variations of this approach, i.e. the interaction between people, built and natural space.

The main professional skills I have developed in this process are in the areas of documentary filmmaking, photography and graphic design.