Francisco Villa-Lobos

The Ditch

The film focuses on the suffering of Chinese who were imprisoned in a forced labor camp called Jiabiangou in the Gobi Desert in winter 1960 under Mao Zedong on the grounds that they were "rightist elements". The film tells of the harsh life of these men, who coped with physical exhaustion, extreme cold, starvation and death on a daily basis.

Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?

Undaunted by a commission to make a film about his mentors and aesthetic exemplars, the filmmaking team of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Costa records with great sensitivity and insight the exacting process by which the two re-edit their film Sicilia!, discussing and arguing over each cut and its effect. Incorporating comments about the influence of figures as diverse as Chaplin and Eisenstein, about the ethical and aesthetic implications of film technique and such matters as rhythm, sound mixing, and acting. The film becomes a tour de force, immersing us in the mysteries of cinema as practiced by some of its greatest creators. Costa calls the film both his first comedy and his first love story.

Cinéma, de notre temps: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub - cinéastes

The original television version of 'Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?'

Nicolinas

For centuries, the oldest academic-popular festivities in Portugal have been organized by a group of students. They began as pagan, pre-Celtic celebrations, were appropriated by the church and made religious, gained a unique social importance, and became something truly ambiguous—a way for the community of Guimarães to express itself in a loud and boisterous manner. St. Nicholas serves as an excuse for social critique and satire carried out by the community.

Colossal Youth

After the Portuguese government demolishes his slum and relocates him to a housing project on the outskirts of Lisbon, 75-year-old Cape Verde immigrant Ventura wanders between his new and old homes, reconnecting with people from his past.

Change Nothing

A short film showing a rehearsal and live performance by Jeanne Balibar. Costa would go on to make a feature-length documentary with the same title and subject matter in 2009.

In Vanda's Room

An unflinching, fragmentary look at a handful of self-destructive, marginalized people, but taking as main focus the heroin-addicted Vanda Duarte.