João Pedro Rodrigues

On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, King without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men devoted to love and desire, and the will to change the status quo. (TMDb)

Following the migration of the Monarch butterfly, fleeing the North American's cold to spend Winter in the pleasant mountains of Michoacán in Mexico. (imdb)

Fernando, a solitary ornithologist, is looking for black storks, a species under threat, along a remote river in northern Portugal, when he is swept away by the rapids. Rescued by a couple of Chinese pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela, he plunges into an eerie and dark forest, trying to get back on his track. But gradually, as he encounters unexpected and uncanny obstacles and people who put him to the test, Fernando is impelled to extreme actions which transform him. (Locarno)

The word panchão was first heard in Macao. From the Chinese pan-tcheong or pau-tcheong, dictionaries define it as a Macanese regionalism also known as China cracker. Who inhabits the ancient IEC Long firecracker factory? (imdb)

Co-directed by João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata, this a mysterious addendum to The Last Time I Saw Macao. The Joãos again employ film-noir tropes in a story of a woman gone missing, but this time the Asian-tinged game is set in Portugal's biggest Chinatown area of Varziela. Mahjong sees both directors making onscreen appearances, with Guerra da Mata, and his hat, assuming the lead role. (viff)

Documentary about the differences and similarities between Macau from the 70s and the proeminent powerful economic country of these days. (mubi.com)

Made for the city of Guimarães' European cultural celebrations, João Pedro Rodrigues' film asks questions (off-screen) of 24 Galician men in various states of undress (and in front of a green-screen), testing their knowledge of Portuguese history--in particular, their thoughts on the first (self-proclaimed) king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques. The answers might surprise you, but in this variation on a casting session for a superhero film, their bodies do much of the talking. (viff)

February 2011 at the Red Market, Macau's famous food market. Two directors, a common look. The gestures and the routines, between life and death. A symphony of slaughter. In memoriam Jane Russell (June 21, 1921--February 28, 2011). (viff)

Saint Anthony is the patron saint of Lisbon and every June 13th tradition says that, as tokens of their love, couples must offer up small vases of basil, paper carnations, flags--and poetry. "At the ball where everybody dances / Someone's left out. / It is better not to go / Where one will not be".--Fernando Pessoa (viff.org)

A transvestite tries to erase any past history of herself as a male. She dies tragically before this is accomplished and her male identity is engraved on her headstone.

China walks towards the Martim Moniz district, in Lisbon. When she passes the children scream: "China, China!". China is going to fly. To escape far away at dawn. She just wants to be happy. But China drinks her own poison. She drinks it all. Sometimes the air seems loaded with evil and the purgatory is a kindergarden.

Two lonely people careen through life following their individual experiences of loss: Rui, a handsome young romantic, loses his lover Pedro on the day of their anniversary; Odete, as fetching as she is unstable, is abruptly dumped by her boyfriend when she broaches the subject of starting a family. Their worlds collide when Odete becomes obsessed with Pedro, a man she never knew.

Sergio works the night shift as a trash collector. He can't force himself to connect with his pretty female co-worker Fatima, who displays an avid interest in him. Eventually Sergio becomes fascinated with a sleek motorcycle, and then also its arrogant owner - a man totally indifferent to him. Sergio's surfacing desires unleash his darkest impulses, sending him down a dangerous path of violence.

Due to the EXPO 98 promotion campaign the Portuguese capital city appeared quite often in the French media. During their Summer holidays the following year, João Pedro Rodrigues once again films this emigrant family in France during their journey through Lisbon's old districts, its outskirts, and their visit to Expo or Luz Stadium. (KG)

Chico wakes up on his 30th birthday to the sound of his girlfriend singing "Happy Birthday" to him on his answering machine. When sexy boy Joao wakes up in bed next to him, he realizes that this is not his typical birthday. (imdb)

João Pedro Rodrigues films the holiday journey of an emigrant family from Paris to their homeland in Trás-os-Montes. Footage from the couple's daily life in Paris - he is a cobbler and she is a janitor - combined with records from their car journey through French and Spanish highways to Portugal and with moments of their holidays. (KG)