#508: COSTA, Pedro: Letters From Fontainhas: Three Films By Pedro Costa (1997-2006)

LETTERS FROM FONTAINHAS: THREE FILMS BY PEDRO COSTA {Spine #508}

DVD

One of the most important artists on the international film scene today, Portuguese director Pedro Costa has been steadily building an impressive body of work since the late eighties. And these are the three films that put him on the map: spare, painterly portraits of battered, largely immigrant lives in the slums of Fontainhas, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon. Hypnotic, controlled works, Ossos, In Vanda's Room, and Colossal Youth confirm Costa as a provocative new cinematic poet, one who locates beauty in the most unlikely of places.

Ossos (1997) {Spine #509}

In Vanda’s Room (2000) {Spine #510}

Colossal Youth (2006) {Spine #511}

SUPPLEMENTS:

• On Colossal Youth.
• This selected-scene commentary features film critic Cyril Neyrat in conversation with author-critic Jacques Rancière.
• All Blossoms Again
• In this 2006 documentary, director Aurélien Gerbault observes Pedro Costa during the filming of Colossal Youth, as he goes to and from Fontainhas, rehearses with actors, and ruminates on the ongoing destruction of the area where the trilogy is set.
• Tarrafal
• The title of this 2007 short film by Pedro Costa refers to a concentration camp for political prisoners established by Portugal, under António de Oliveira Salazar, on Cape Verde. This history looms large for the film’s protagonist, José Alberto, who receives a letter of extradition forcing him to return to his ancestors’ homeland in Africa. Tarrafal was produced for the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, as part of the omnibus film The State of the World.
• The Rabbit Hunters
• In this short film, Costa reworks the footage from Tarrafal, this time focusing on Ventura, the paterfamilias of Collosal Youth, and his encounters with a homeless friend, Alfredo. The Rabbit Hunters was produced for the Jeonju Film Festival in South Korea, as part of the omnibus film Memories.
• Little Boy Male, Little Girl Female
• Costa’s 2006 installation is made up of additional footage from In Vanda’s Room and Collosal Youth. Interior and exterior spaces in Fontainhas are set side by side. Editing the images is left up to the viewer.

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