Ate ver a luz – Basil Da Cunha
Section: Directors’ Fortnight
Buzz: Basil da Cunha is a Swiss filmmaker of Portuguese descent. In 2011 and 2012, his short films Nuvem and Os vivos também choram were part of the official selection in Directors’ Fortnight, where the latter short was awarded a Special Mention from the Jury. Expectations are high for Da Cunha’s first feature film. However, based on the images, it promises to be another gritty, crime-riddled, violent drama, set in the Afro-Portuguese community in Lisbon. Let’s hope Da Cunha brings something new to this oft-treaded setting.
The Gist: Straight out of jail, Sombra returns to his life as a drug dealer in the creole slum of Lisbon. In between the money he has lent and can’t get back, the money he owes, a fanciful iguana, an invasive little girl and a ringleader who begins to mistrust him, he starts to think that he might have been better off in prison.