O Que Podem as Palavras [What Words Can Do] awarded at Doclisboa
The film O Que Podem as Palavras [What Words Can Do] by Luísa Sequeira, Lusófona University PhD Student, and Luísa Marinho was awarded the Audience Award for Best Portuguese Film /Público Newspaper. This prize rewards the best Portuguese work comprising all sections (except the Green Years section).
Doclisboa took place between the 6th and the 16th of October and was once again dedicated to showing the best documentary cinema produced internationally.
About the film
In 1972, Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa published the book As Novas Cartas Portuguesas [New Portuguese Letters], addressing topics forbidden and censored during the Estado Novo regime such as the colonial war, adultery, rape and abortion. The book was immediately banned and the writers were prosecuted for crimes against morality. The legal proceedings caused waves of protest around the world, giving rise to an international network of solidarity. In the film, the “three Marias” tell their story, before and after one the first major feminist struggles in Portugal."