
Directing
Catarina Mourão
Lisbon, Portugal
Acting credits
NRFor as long as she remembers, Francisca lives with an inexplicable and uncontrollable aversion to belly buttons. Nothing makes her more anxious than this simple part of the body and the shapes in the world that resemble it. When therapy isn't enough to solve her cherished phobia , Francisca turns to other types of methods - without any scientific basis and not recommended for anyone who suffers from the same condition.
o
2026
NR1979. Flicking through pictures from a Soviet magazine, 15-year-old Martim dreams of building a new society. His radical communist parents send him to study at Astrakan for one year. In her new film, Catarina Mourão captures with tremendous precision the moment a middle-aged man passes his story on to his son, thus shedding the taboo of his ineffable experience.
Astrakan 79
2024
NREvery family has its secrets, the family of Portuguese filmmaker Mourão included. As the granddaughter of the well-known writer Tomaz de Figueiredo, she picks apart several of them in an intimate yet universally meaningful way. As such, her film also becomes a portrait of dictatorship and resistance and of the urge to create art.
The Wolf's Lair
2015
Behind the camera
Documentary about the artistic creation in Cape Verde, with the director following, during the preparation of one of the editions of the Mindelact festival, the rehearsals and backstage of the artists. It focuses on the birth and discussion of ideas in groups, looking for ways to express a new identity. The strength of Orlando Pantera stands out, whose premature death at the age of 33 took out of Cape Verde one of the most promising creators of recent times.
More Soul
2001
NR'One day I realized it no longer made sense to make things to hang on walls'... Lourdes Castro became known as the artist 'who took care of shadows'. Throughout her international career as an artist, Lourdes developed the concept of shadow, giving it different forms and finally reducing it to the minimum and dematerializing it. She has lived in Munich, Berlin and Paris, but 40 years ago she decided to return to Madeira, her birth place, where she has lived ever since 'in the shadows'. 'What is Lourdes 'taking care of' nowadays?
Through Shadows
2010
NR'One day I realized it no longer made sense to make things to hang on walls'... Lourdes Castro became known as the artist 'who took care of shadows'. Throughout her international career as an artist, Lourdes developed the concept of shadow, giving it different forms and finally reducing it to the minimum and dematerializing it. She has lived in Munich, Berlin and Paris, but 40 years ago she decided to return to Madeira, her birth place, where she has lived ever since 'in the shadows'. 'What is Lourdes 'taking care of' nowadays?
Through Shadows
2010
NR“The whistle man” was a typical character of the portuguese sea-side during the Fascist Portugal. His story has so many versions that he has become a myth: A poor crazy man who lost his baby girl, a professional homeless who lived from the charity of rich families, a pedofile or a summer father Christmas. His whistle announced his arrival and attracted boys and girls or made them run away. Last year I found 30 seconds of footage of this man which until then was just a memory. Is he more real now?
The Hissing of Summer Sands
2019
NR“The whistle man” was a typical character of the portuguese sea-side during the Fascist Portugal. His story has so many versions that he has become a myth: A poor crazy man who lost his baby girl, a professional homeless who lived from the charity of rich families, a pedofile or a summer father Christmas. His whistle announced his arrival and attracted boys and girls or made them run away. Last year I found 30 seconds of footage of this man which until then was just a memory. Is he more real now?
The Hissing of Summer Sands
2019
NR“The whistle man” was a typical character of the portuguese sea-side during the Fascist Portugal. His story has so many versions that he has become a myth: A poor crazy man who lost his baby girl, a professional homeless who lived from the charity of rich families, a pedofile or a summer father Christmas. His whistle announced his arrival and attracted boys and girls or made them run away. Last year I found 30 seconds of footage of this man which until then was just a memory. Is he more real now?
The Hissing of Summer Sands
2019
Houses to sell…houses to live in…houses to fill and die in… Mr. António Carlos works in a real estates agency, he is pressurized daily by his superiors to close contracts and bring profit to the company. Joana, a single mother, and her baby, Joaquim, are moving house hoping for a different life. Mr. Pinto has an old-fashioned removal company and his days are spent waiting for the phone to ring, but there isn’t much work and when finally work shows up it always hides a surprise. Three stories set in Oporto, Portugal, about people, houses, and restless lonely urban lives.
Restless
2002
NRThe painter Ana Marchand always felt a bit dislocated in her family. The love of art and travel, where did she get those from? As a young woman she saw a travel book written by her uncle Maurizio Piscicelli and finally understood. Catarina Mourão follows Ana’s familiar and spiritual journey. Who was Maurizio? Who is Ana? The face of one, the face of the other. Reincarnation are the several lives we live.
Ana and Maurizio
2020
NRThe painter Ana Marchand always felt a bit dislocated in her family. The love of art and travel, where did she get those from? As a young woman she saw a travel book written by her uncle Maurizio Piscicelli and finally understood. Catarina Mourão follows Ana’s familiar and spiritual journey. Who was Maurizio? Who is Ana? The face of one, the face of the other. Reincarnation are the several lives we live.
Ana and Maurizio
2020
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Os Bravos
2026
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Os Bravos
2026
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Rituais de Inverno com Máscaras
2001
NR1979. Flicking through pictures from a Soviet magazine, 15-year-old Martim dreams of building a new society. His radical communist parents send him to study at Astrakan for one year. In her new film, Catarina Mourão captures with tremendous precision the moment a middle-aged man passes his story on to his son, thus shedding the taboo of his ineffable experience.
Astrakan 79
2024
NR1979. Flicking through pictures from a Soviet magazine, 15-year-old Martim dreams of building a new society. His radical communist parents send him to study at Astrakan for one year. In her new film, Catarina Mourão captures with tremendous precision the moment a middle-aged man passes his story on to his son, thus shedding the taboo of his ineffable experience.
Astrakan 79
2024
NR1979. Flicking through pictures from a Soviet magazine, 15-year-old Martim dreams of building a new society. His radical communist parents send him to study at Astrakan for one year. In her new film, Catarina Mourão captures with tremendous precision the moment a middle-aged man passes his story on to his son, thus shedding the taboo of his ineffable experience.
Astrakan 79
2024
NRA documentary about a woman from the town of Chandor, Goa. The documentary is a running commentary of her current life in Chandor, as she reminises over her Portuguese-Indian past.
A Dama de Chandor
1999
NREvery family has its secrets, the family of Portuguese filmmaker Mourão included. As the granddaughter of the well-known writer Tomaz de Figueiredo, she picks apart several of them in an intimate yet universally meaningful way. As such, her film also becomes a portrait of dictatorship and resistance and of the urge to create art.
The Wolf's Lair
2015
NREvery family has its secrets, the family of Portuguese filmmaker Mourão included. As the granddaughter of the well-known writer Tomaz de Figueiredo, she picks apart several of them in an intimate yet universally meaningful way. As such, her film also becomes a portrait of dictatorship and resistance and of the urge to create art.
The Wolf's Lair
2015
No synopsis available yet.
Malmequer, Bem-Me-Quer ou O Diário de Uma Encomenda
2004
"I was born beneath this water. I was 10 years old when it all happened. Some things I remember well, others are blurred and confused. People change address, new churches are built, new bakeries, houses and streets ... But in this case, everything changed at the same time. Perhaps it was a way of pretending that nothing moved at all." During six years the makers shot this film in Luz Village (Portugal), condemned to disappear beneath the waters of the Alqueva dam. Especially for this project, a new village was constructed. But the forced migration does not pass very smoothly, since existing social structures, as well as the unique relation with nature are being disturbed. Combining these images with stories told by children who recollect their life during the moving process, this documentary presents the strange story of this village.
My Village Doesn't Live Here Anymore
2006
No synopsis available yet.
Under the skin
2006
Mother and daughter resort to mediation to try to resolve a family conflict.
Mãe e Filha
2009
