Exclusive: Cinema Guild Obtains the Films of Margarida Cordeiro and António Reis

      Continuing their impressive streak of acquiring filmographies typically only accessible through extremely rare repertory screenings and low-quality DVD versions, Cinema Guild—we are excited to share—will present the films of Portuguese directors António Reis and Margarida Cordeiro. This agreement includes their three feature films—“a renowned trilogy set in the remote, almost mythical Northeast of Portugal,” consisting of Trás-os-Montes (1976), Ana (1982), and Rosa de Areia (1989)—negotiated by Cinema Guild’s Peter Kelly and Edward McCarry with Cinemateca Portuguesa, which represents the films on behalf of Cordeiro. She also oversaw the digitization and restoration of these three works.

      Cinema Guild’s release will kick off next month with the TIFF retrospective “António Reis & Margarida Cordeiro, Restored,” running from May 8 to May 17, followed by additional screenings in Canada and the United States later this year; home-video and digital distributions will follow. Commenting on TIFF’s series, Senior Film Curator Andréa Picard stated, “Ready for discovery in North America, the work of Reis and Cordeiro has made a significant mark on contemporary Portuguese cinema. Their collaboration created a blend of radical intent and style, combining formal discipline with a sensuality that yielded some of the most stunning visuals in film history.” Meanwhile, Rui Machado, director of Cinemateca Portuguesa, noted, “The films by Reis and Cordeiro, originally filmed and projected on film, have maintained their exquisite original character and essence in these newly restored digital copies.”

      Relatively obscure outside Portugal, Reis (1927-1991) and Cordeiro (b. 1939) are highly respected figures in their homeland. Reis was a poet, folklorist, and ethnographer, while Cordeiro practiced as a psychiatrist. Through a small yet significant body of work, the pair established a cinema marked by deep commitment, intricately tied to the language, labor, myths, and dreams of the people and landscape of Portugal’s remote Northeast, particularly the region known as Trás-os-Montes. With one foot firmly planted in the earth and the other in the cosmos, Reis and Cordeiro’s films reflect the deep, cyclical nature of folk tradition. Their cinematic output intertwines documentary and poetry, reality and fantasy, the ancient and the modern—a blend of contradictions that is both harmonious and sharply discordant. Esteemed by figures such as Jacques Rivette, Marguerite Duras, João César Monteiro, and Joris Ivens, Reis and Cordeiro continue to cast a long shadow over Portuguese cinema, particularly influencing the work of Pedro Costa, a former student of Reis.