Linha Vermelha

In April 1975, one year after the Carnation Revolution, German filmmaker Thomas Harlan began to film the occupation of the grand estate of Torre Bela and the founding of a socialist cooperative by land workers. The campaign became famous together with the film Torre Bela. In his essay film, José Filipe Costa deconstructs the revolutionary myth over three decades later and draws on conversations with those involved, the analysis of cassette recordings and scenes from Harlan’s film to examine the role of the film team, which didn’t just accompany the events of back then but also orchestrated and dramatized them. In self-reflexive fashion, Costa also questions his own (re)construction of history and the power of cinema in voiceover. (bik)