Prémios Awards
Nomeado para Grand National Prize at the National Showcase for Young Creators (MNJC), Gerador EU, Portugal

Festivais Festivals
MDOC – Festival Internacional de Documentário de Melgaço, Portugal

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Raiano was born out of the Plano Frontal Cinematographic Residency, held each summer in the small town of Melgaço. The residency’s mission is to connect local residents with cinema and to give emerging filmmakers — many of whom haven’t yet had the means to create their first short films — the opportunity to make a film. At the same time, it offers a unique window into the history and life of this border region in northern Portugal. As the director, I reached out to a team formed by two other women to make this film: Amanda Triano, the director of photography, and Inês Dixe, the sound director. The three of us come from different places — I am Brazilian, Amanda is Spanish, and Inês is Portuguese. We each had some familiarity with each other’s countries and were used to communicating through the nuances of portuñol, celebrating our different accents. Our shared perspectives on borders, immigration, and identity were the foundation of our motivation to join the residency and create this film. It also laid the groundwork for a friendship that grew naturally over time. Upon arriving in Melgaço, guided by Pedro Senna Nunes and supported by executive producer João Peixoto, we began meeting many residents who warmly opened their doors and shared their stories with us, young filmmakers. During one of these visits, I met Luís Carlos Gonçalves, a raiano, who, just by his presence, carried the wisdom of someone who has lived through much in life — complex layers he expressed with remarkable freedom. When he told me that, at some point, he wished he had been a playwright, the clear idea I had of what this film would be completely shifted. We set out to capture the border through Luís Carlos’s eyes — someone deeply connected to every corner, every plant, and every crossroads of this land. This journey was a profound act of generosity and respect: he willingly shared his life and work with us, while understanding that we too were striving to earn our daily bread through cinema. So there we were — a sheepherder and former smuggler, three filmmakers, 400 sheep, a camera, and a recorder — trying to grasp what the ‘raia’ truly is and what it means to belong to this borderland. Over time, the border itself began to speak through us, shaping the film you see today and the natural tenderness that grew among us. As the brazilian poet Waly Salomão so beautifully put it while crossing a river, I say about this film: “Cresci sob um teto sossegado Meu sonho era um pequenino sonho meu. Na ciência dos cuidados fui treinado. Agora, entre meu ser e o ser alheio, A linha de fronteira se rompeu.”

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