Ana at the Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf: Portuguese cinema as inner landscape
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A poetic journey into the inner memory of the landscape
With Ana, the Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf presents an extraordinary film by Margarida Cordeiro and António Reis on November 12, 2026. The Portuguese directing duo developed an independent cinematic language beyond the familiar boundaries of documentary and feature film: poetic, hypnotic, and attentive to the subtle transitions between memory, landscape, and human perception.
A film between landscape and memory
Ana, from 1982, runs for 114 minutes and condenses the landscape of the Portuguese region Trás-os-Montes into an inner experience space. At the center is Ana, the mother of Margarida Cordeiro. Her portrait does not follow classical dramaturgy but unfolds as a symbolic, non-narrative sequence of images, impressions, and mental movements.
Poetic cinema with art-historical significance
António Reis is regarded as a visionary key figure in Portuguese cinema. Together with Margarida Cordeiro, he shaped a radical artistic direction of cinematic storytelling, where time does not pass linearly but is experienced as memory, rhythm, and atmosphere. Their works combine ethnographic observation, lyrical image composition, and an intensive engagement with rural living environments.
Aesthetic experience in the cinema space
The artistic contemplation of Ana opens a sensory art experience: landscape appears not as a mere backdrop but as a vibrant resonance space. Colors, shapes, light, and silence gain an almost material presence. The exhibition atmosphere of a classical museum gives way to the concentrated perception in the cinema hall, where the installation of image, sound, duration, and memory unfolds.
Influence on Portuguese author cinema
Cordeiro and Reis made only a few films, but their impact on Portuguese author and experimental cinema is extensive. Their works influenced a younger generation of filmmakers and were recognized by significant directors as crucial for the development of contemporary Portuguese cinema. Ana represents a form of cinematic art that resists rapid dissolution and develops its significance through precise, patient perception.
Conclusion: Cinema as inner landscape
The screening of Ana promises an intense artistic experience for all who understand film as aesthetic experience, poetic research, and cultural education. Those who engage with the slow visual language, the suggestive sound world, and the open meaning spaces will encounter a rare meeting with a milestone of Portuguese cinema. A visit to the Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf is worthwhile for anyone who wants to not only see film but experience it as a physically and mentally affecting space.
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