Organised in collaboration with Apordoc, Arché Porto is a critical and experimental space for the development of Ibero-American projects with a strong documentary vocation — especially those that inhabit the hybrid zones between reality and fiction. During five intensive days, authors immerse themselves in an environment of listening, confrontation and creation, accompanied by a tutor who encourages in-depth analysis of ideas, formal and narrative intentions, and the possible paths of each work. More than just resolving practical issues, Arché Porto opens up time and space to question assumptions, test limits, and explore new forms of cinematic language. At the end of the workshop, the projects are presented to industry professionals and an international jury, responsible for awarding several prizes.
PITCHING SESSION
26 NOV → TMP – RIVOLI → PEQUENO AUDITÓRIO → 10:30
Open to all industry-accredited participants.
The full schedule of all industry activities is available to view here.
Selected Projects
VOLCÁN
VOLCANO
Luciana Merino Blamey
DOC, CHL, 20’
Three teenagers fall in love while riding through Santiago on a cargo motorcycle. The journey turns into a science fiction documentary with hazy 16mm and digital footage, revealing a different version of the city.
Production: Javiera Leal Monje
Contact: Luciana Merino Blamey | lucianamerinoblamey@gmail.com
NUESTRA PIEL LEVANTADA
OUR RAISED SKIN
Paolo Natale García
DOC, ESP, 70’
Paolo films his father and grandfather, placing increasing emphasis on their bodies and identifying with them. He wonders if they are aware of their emotions and the eating disorder they suffer from, just like him.
Production: Mubox Studio
Contact: Paolo Natale García | paolonatalegarcia18.cine@gmail.com
PORQUE UN AMIGO VINO A MÍ ESTE DÍA
FOR A FRIEND HAS COME TO ME TODAY
Rodrigo Montani
DOC, ARG, 90’
A dead man, a woman living alone in the forest, a boy lost in a village, and a child who will soon become a man. Four generations of the same family. The filmmaker-anthropologist knows them all. They are his friends. And the film is a love letter.
Production: Fernando Restelli, Ana Apontes
Contact: Rodrigo Montani | rodrigomontani@ffyh.unc.edu.ar
VICISITUDES DE LA LUZ
VICISSITUDES OF LIGHT
Marcel Beltrán
DOC, BRA, CUB, 90’
An intimate portrait of Cuban photographer Chinolope (1935–2021), silenced by those in power. His hidden work resurfaces as a testimony to the culture of silence and the fragility of memory.
Production: Mediocielo Films (BRA)
Contact: Marcel Beltrán | marcel@mediocielofilms.com
IDALINA
IDALINA
Patrícia Nogueira
DOC, PRT, 85’
Idalina, a free-spirited woman in the early 20th century, is forced into a white marriage. Drawn to her stepson, she is confined to a manor in Minho, where solitude and madness slowly push her to the edge.
Production: Laranja Azul (PRT)
Contact: Patrícia Nogueira | patnogueira@gmail.com
TUTOR
A Colombian–Belgian filmmaker who works between reality and the imaginary, with strong political and aesthetic concerns rooted in his homeland. He has made two fiction feature films: “Iluminada”, produced in Belgium by The Blue Raincoat, and “Tantas almas” (2019) — San Francisco IFF, Glasgow FF, Camerimage, Brussels IFF, Nantes Three Continents Festival, Transilvania IFF, Marrakech IFF. Both films were shot with non-professional actors and in territories that feed back into their narratives. Before these two fiction works, he made a documentary trilogy titled “Campo hablado”, focused on the intersection between oral tradition and political violence, comprising “En lo escondido” (2005) — winner at Cinéma du Réel —, “Los abrazos del río” (2010) — winner at the Nantes Three Continents Festival, selected for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and ZagrebDox —, and “Noche herida” (2015) — winner at Cinéma du Réel, the Cartagena de Indias Film Festival and the Macondo Awards. His projects have been developed in programmes such as the San Sebastián IFF Co-Production Forum and L’Atelier, Cannes Cinéfondation.
PITCHING SESSION MODERATION
Anne Rethfeldt, DAE – Documentary Association of Europe
Anne Rethfeldt joined the DAE team in May 2021. She is a project manager, cultural producer, writer, and podcast creator, with experience in European film festivals and documentary organisations since 2014, including DOK Leipzig, CPH:DOX, DOX BOX e.V., CIRCLE – Doc Women Accelerator, and Berlinale Generation. In 2024, she completed the EURODOC training programme, strengthening her expertise in documentary development and European collaboration.
Activity co-organised in collaboration with:
Apordoc
With the support of:
Turismo de Portugal
Operation supported by the Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères and the Institut Français within the framework of the international promotion strategy for cultural and creative industries through the PICC programme.
In partnership with:
ECAM – Escuela de la Cinematografía de la Comunidad de Madrid
DAE – Documentary Association of Europe
Mad Sound Studios
Sound Force Studio
Eurodoc
