"José y Pilar": un film de Miguel Gonçalves Mendes

8/3/2019 "José y Pilar": un film de Miguel Gonçalves Mendes

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Fernando Meirelles’ O2 Filmes,

Almodóvar Brother’s El Deseo and

JumpCut Presents

JOSÉ and PILARA film by

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes

PORTUGAL’S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION TO

THE 84TH ACADEMY AWARDS®FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE

Sponsored by





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General Information

Release Date

November 16, 2010 at Cinema São Jorge in Lisbon, Portugal

Run Time: 117minutes | Rated: Unrated | Language: PortugueseOfficial Website: www.joseandpilar.com

Photos Available www.joseandpilar.com

Distribution Contact

Paul HudsonOutsider Pictures

1127 9th Street #104Phone: 310. 951.0878

Email: [email protected]

LA & National Publicity Contact

David MagdaelDavid Magdael & Associates, Inc.600 W. 9th Street, Suite 704 Los Angeles, CA 90015

Phone: 213.624.7827Cell: [email protected]

http://www.joseandpilar.com/joseepilar_en.html


mailto:[email protected]










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Synopsis

José and Pilar , a documentary by Miguel GonçalvesMendes, is a deeply moving story about love, loss and litera-

ture. It follows the days of José Saramago, the Nobel-laure-ate Portuguese novelist, and his wife, Pilar del Río. The film

shows their whirlwind life of international travel, his passion

for completing his masterpiece, The Elephant’s Journey andhow their love quietly sustains them throughout.

José and Pilar reveals the hidden Saramago, unravels anypreconceived notions about him, and proves that genius and

simplicity are indeed compatible. It is a funny and touchingportrait on the endurance of the artistic spirit. A glimpse into

the life of one of the greatest creators of the 20th century, itshows us that, as Saramago says, “There is always another

way to say everything.”





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Filmmaker StatementI was always a huge fan of José Saramago and became more and

more curious about what life must be like for a Nobel-laureate

novelist. So, I wrote Saramago a letter asking if I could make a

documentary about his life. At first, he refused saying he valued his

privacy and felt that he led such a simple life, that it would be of no

interest to anyone. But then after some consideration, he agreed to

let me start shooting his public events.

I was very discreet, eager to pull back the curtain on the

life of this amazing man, a pop star in his own right. Aftersome time, José and Pilar (his equally amazing wife) for-

got about the cameras. And over the course of four years, Ifilmed them, shared meals with them, plane trips all over the

world, and their life that they graciously allowed me to docu-ment.

It was a life changing experience and one I will always treasure.

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, Director





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BiographiesJosé Saramago (Featured Subject )

Son and grandson of farmers, José Saramago was born in

Azinhaga, Portugal on November 16th 1922. He became thefirst Portuguese language writer (the 5th most spoken lan-

guage in the world) to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Hewas also a poet, playwright and journalist. His books have

sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translatedinto 25 languages. He is also a well-known communist and

atheist. His great work, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ was considered to be blasphemous by the Portuguese gov-

ernment who refused to enter it into The European LiteraryPrize. Saramago was offended by the government’s censor-

ship and moved to Lanzarote, Spain where he lived with hiswife, Pilar del Río until his death in 2010.

Pilar del Río

Pilar del Río Sánchez was born in 1950 in Seville, Spain. Shehas a university degree in journalism and fell into translatingby chance. She worked in radio and Spanish television (TVE)

where she hosted a daily two hour show. She married José

Saramago in 1988 and has translated six of his novels. Cur-rently, she chairs the Saramago Foundation in Lisbon.

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes (Director Producer)

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes was born in 1978 in Covilhã, Portu-

gal. He received his BA in cinema from the School Institute

of Theater in Film, in Lisbon, 2005. In 2002, he founded theproduction company, JumpCut, which developed differentactivities in theater and audiovisual areas. He is an award-

winning director and producer of the following productions:

José and Pilar , Autografia, and D. Nieves.





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Pedro Almodóvar (Producer)

Pedro Almodóvar was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain, on

September 25th, 1949. He started making short films in the1970’s and became the leading figure of “La Movida,” the pop

cultural movement of late 70’s Madrid. In 1985, he and Agus-tín Almodóvar founded El Deseo. He is an Academy Award

winning director, screenwriter and producer of such distingui-shed films as: Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdo-wn, All About My Mother , Talk To Her , and Volver .

Fernando Meirelles (Producer)

Fernando Meirelles was born on November 9th, 1955 in São

Paulo, Brazil. He studied architecture at university in SãoPaulo. Meirelles worked in TV and commercials in the 1980’s

but then moved into film. In the early nineties, he foundedO2 Filmes with Paulo Morelli and Andrea Barata Ribeiro. His

film City of God , released in 2002, was picked up by MiramaxFilms and nominated for an Academy Award. His other nota-

ble films include: The Constant Gardener and most recently,

Blindness.

Esther García (Producer)

An award-winning producer of many distinguished films, suchas: Bad Education, Volver , Talk To Her and most recently, TheSkin I Live In.

Bel Berlinck (Producer)

An award-winning producer. His most notable credits include:City Of God , Blindness and City Of Men.





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Film Credit List

FilmmakersDirectorMiguel Gonçalves Mendes

SubjectsJosé Saramago

Pilar del Río

ProducersAugustín Almodóvar (Spain)

Bel Berlinck (Brazil)Esther García (Spain)Fernando Meirelles (Brazil)

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes (Portugal)

Directory of PhotographyDaniel Neves (Portugal)

EditorCláudia Rita Oliveira (Portugal)

Executive ProducerAna Jordão (Portugal)Daniela Siragusa (Portugal)

Production ConsultantBeth Anne Calabro-Oulman (Portugal)

Original MusicAdriana Calcanhotto (Brazil)Alberto Iglesias (Spain)

Bruno Palazzo (Brazil)Camané (Portugal)

José Mário Branco (Portugal)Luís Cília (Portugal)

Noiserv (Portugal)Pedro Gonçalves (Portugal)

Pedro Granato / Filipe Pinheiro (Brazil)

FeaturingJosé Saramago

Pilar del RíoGael García Bernal

Fernando Meirelles





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Festivals & Awards

•Portugal’s official submission for the 84th Academy

Awards

• Official Selection - Rio de Janeiro International Film

Festival (Brazil, 2010)

• Opening Night - VII DocLisboa International

Documentar y Film Festival (Portugal, 2010)

• Opening Night, Winner – Audience Award - Visões do Sul

Portimão International Film Festival (Portugal, 2010)

• Winner - Audience Award - São Paulo International Film

Festival (Brazil, 2010)

• Nominated for Best Film by the Portuguese Authors

Society (Portugal, 2011)

• Nominated for Best Documentary, Best Editing and Best

Soundtrack by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema (Brazil, 2011)

•

Opening Night – The Poli tical Cinema Ronda InternationalFilm Festival (Spain, 2011)

• Closing Night - Gala Premier Section at the Guadalajara

International Film Festival (Mexico, 2011)

• Nominated for Best Film documentary and Best Director -

“Cont igo” Magaz ine Awards (Brazil, 2011)

• Official Selection - Mekedox 2011 Official Competition

(Macedónia, 2011)

• Official Selection - Las Palmas International Film

Festival (Spain, 2011)

• Official Selection - Punta del Este Internacional Film

Festival (Uruguay, 2011)

• Nominated - Best Film Documentary and Best Director at

Cinepor - Portuguese Language Films Festival (Brazil, 2011)

"José y Pilar": un film de Miguel Gonçalves Mendes

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