A missing king, a promise of return and an imaginary that crossed the Atlantic. Do you know this story? These are the starting points for Foga Portuguese-Brazilian project selected in the Brazil–Portugal co-production initiative promoted by Canal Curta! in partnership with FESTin Lisboa.
The documentary stood out among the proposals presented during the meetings held at the festival, in 2025, for the way it connects Brazil and Portugal based on the same founding myth – Dom Sebastião.
Directed by Larissa Malty and Neto Borges, Fog It is born from the co-production between the Brazilian company Olho Filmes and the Portuguese company Cabiria Productions and covers Sebastianism, a popular belief linked to the disappearance of Dom Sebastião in the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir. The narrative follows how this legend found a new symbolic territory in Maranhão, reappearing in Mina’s terreiros, in popular festivals and in memories passed down from generation to generation.
The filming planned in Portugal and Maranhão supports an approach that crosses different times and geographies, blurring boundaries between Europe, Africa and America. “More than a legend, Sebastianism reveals how collective desire shapes reality”, summarizes the film’s proposal, which observes how the same story gains new layers when circulating between different cultures.
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This crossing will also be present in the music. The original soundtrack will be written by Zeca Baleiro, adding to the documentary a sound dimension that dialogues with the intersection of cultural references. For the director of Canal Curta!, Julio Worcman, the choice of the project has strategic significance: “We want to deepen the integration between Portuguese language producers and we dream of also bringing content and programming from the Curta! channel to the screens in Portugal”.
The estimated investment is around R$ 800 thousand (approximately 125 thousand euros), made possible by Canal Curta! with the Audiovisual Sector Fund (FSA), in a line aimed at TV and VOD programmers, under the coordination of Ancine.
For Léa Teixeira, general director and programmer at FESTin, “more than choosing a film, Fog represents a commitment to a path of cooperation that connects histories, cultures and markets”.
nuno.tibirica@dn.pt