Sérgio Tréfaut
The reason for this small homage to the Portuguese director, producer and promoter for the documentary film genre is that the Danish Cinematheque in Copenhagen shows a mini-series of the director’s work, starting this coming thursday with the masterpiece ”Alentejo, Alentejo” from 2014, that has Joao Ribeiro as cameraman, from my point of view one of the best in Europe. A quote from the review I wrote about the film on this site:
”… In this –to warn you: I will not be short of praising adjectives in this review – wonderful emotional journey into the history of ”cante”, its roots, its connection to the farming and cooking culture (you see how a bread soup is made, and how bread is baked and red wine is enjoyed) you are invited to enjoy the ”cante” singing by primarily male choirs constituted by Men with furrowed faces and well-fed stomachs, who make the most beautiful performances. You may close your eyes and enjoy, but it would be wrong as the camera catches superbly the faces and the English subtitles, as good as subtitles can be, give you the content of the songs…”
Two other films by Tréfaut is on the programme in Copenhagen, ”Another Country” from 2000, produced by Pedro Martins, about the carnation revolution and ”Fleurette” from 2002 about his mother and her son, the director. Informative and personal and always with an artistic ambition. Here is the cv of Sérgio Tréfaut from his own website:
”Sérgio Tréfaut was born in Brazil in 1965. After a Master in Philosophy at the Sorbonne (Paris), he started his career in Lisbon as a journalist and assistant director. Eventually he became a producer and director. His documentaries were presented at IDFA and in more than 30 countries, receiving several international awards. His main titles are Outro País (1999), Fleurette (2002), Lisboetas (2005), The City of the Dead (2009). Lisboetas was the first documentary running in Portuguese cinemas for more than three months. His first feature fiction Journey to Portugal (2011), based on a true story and starring Maria de Medeiros is a provocative statement about European airport borders nowadays. It also received several international prizes and was nominated for a Portuguese Golden Globes award (best film, best actress). Sérgio Tréfaut directed Doclisboa International Film Festival from 2004 to 2010. He was also President of Apordoc, the Portuguese Documentary Association and member of the Executive board of EDN – European Documentary Network.”
