Ficar à toa

During a stay in Lisbon, the artist recorded the story of a Brazilian couple met by chance from a door-to-door meeting. From this material, she makes a film about their story without understanding it because she don’t speak their language. The discovery of these characters is at first visual and sound. Their behaviors and ways of expressing themselves, the interior of their apartment and its decoration are all clues to their personalities. Imitating the process of film photography, they really reveal themselves in a second time, at the time of subtitling. A blind mounted portrait that actually turns out to visible.

With Ficar à toa, the artist realizes that it is possible to make portraits despite the linguistic differences. This opens a new line of research on the universality of the portrait, whether through the chosen recording device, its editing or its presentation.

Film – 6 min 45 – 2022

HD – 16/9 – Stereo – Portuguese – French Subtitles