The wait is over!
The first highlights of the very special 22nd edition of モンスター are out!
Around 400 films, 50 countries, 8 world premieres, 17 international premieres and 70 national premieres: this is only the beginning of what MONSTRA 2023 has in store for us.
A milestone in the festival’s history, the much anticipated 22nd edition will take place under the sign of two very important celebrations in cinema: the centenary of our beloved Portuguese animation and the legacy of Japan’s unparalleled animated art.
Portugal reaches the Oscars with an animated film
After a long and beautiful journey of 100 years, what began with “O Pesadelo do António Maria” becomes a dream and, today, a reality. A century after the probable first Portuguese animation film, directed by Joaquim Guerreiro, “Ice Merchants”, by João Gonzalez, is in the running for the Oscar of Best Animated Short Film.
At MONSTRA, the first Portuguese production to knock on Hollywood’s door is also competing for the SPA Vasco Granja award and in the International Short Film Competition, alongside the American Academy nominee “The Flying Sailor”, by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby.
With a programme full of tributes to the history of Portuguese cinema, and that fills us with pride, MONSTRA also prepares talks, meetings, masterclasses, transversal cycles of cinema, exhibitions about animation made in Portugal, and much more! Not to be missed.
480 years of Luso-Japanese friendship and a journey through Japanese poetry
Almost 5 centuries ago, the Portuguese sailors were the first westerners to dock in Japan. In this new edition of MONSTRA, we relive this unique moment of encounter and fascination with the cultural richness and aesthetics of Japan. Launched once again in a journey — this time cinematographic — through the poetics of the country, we start from the masters of the beginning of the 20th century and end in the present day, with a selection of the best of Japanese contemporary animation, from the traditional to the most experimental.
Directors such as Masaaki Yuasa, who guarantees the Portuguese exclusive screening of “Inu-Oh”, Atsushi Wada, Osamu Tezuka, Eiichi Yamamoto and Noburô Ôfuji are some of the protagonists of this itinerary, which also pays tribute to the work of the duo Renzo and Sayoko Kinoshita and invites Koji Yamamura, one of the confirmed presences this year.
Anime fans can expect, of course, great classics to revisit in the cinemas — and the inevitable presence of Studio Ghibli, with 7 films, and an unprecedented visit of the Oscar-winning Dutchman Michaël Dudok de Wit, for the first time in Portugal and conducting a masterclass about his career.
On the big screens, 7 films compose the Feature Film Competition
For the first time, in competition for MONSTRA’s Grand Prix for Feature Films, we have two Portuguese creations: “Nayola”, by José Miguel Ribeiro, and “My Grandfather’s Demons”, by Nuno Beato — films that, in their own way, approach the continuity of the past in the present.
It is also from the challenges that come from the friction between generations that we discover, in the national premiere of “No Dogs or Italians Allowed”, by Alain Ughetto, the power of family memories that reveal themselves by telling stories about the world.
“Perlimps”, Brazilian Alê Abreu’s most recent release, and “Yaya and Lennie: The Walking Liberty”, by Alessandro Rak, confront us with the importance of differences in the construction of a plural peace — such a fundamental message for today and for always, reminding us that freedom is a daily conquest.
Freedom at a global level, but also at the most intimate level of each one of us, who, like the protagonist of “My Love Affair With Marriage”, embark on an indispensable adventure of emancipation and self-acceptance.
Discover these and many more highlights from this exciting programme at monstrafestival.com.
Accreditations for the general public, students and professionals are available at special rates until February 28!
Let the MONSTRA bug bite you and get (even) more animated, from 15 to 26 March, in Lisbon.