Diogo Baldaia (1992, Porto) studied directing and cinematography at ESTC in Lisbon before completing a master’s degree in Plastic Arts at KASK Conservatorium in Ghent, Belgium, where he lived and worked before returning to Portugal. While still a student, he directed the films Fúria (2013) and Vulto (2014), which were shown at Doclisboa and Curtas Vila do Conde, respectively. His first professional short, Miragem Meus Putos (2017), won the prize for Best Short Film in the National Competition at IndieLisboa. His films, all experimental fictions, have been shown and received awards at a range of national and international festivals, with Why Are You Image Plus? (2023) premiering at Rotterdam Festival in the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition section.
Baldaia’s filmography considers the future wishes, drives and growing pains of a young generation, taking a critical look at a contemporary reality that holds them back from their aspirations and pushes them towards alienation and anxiety. When it is difficult to realise one’s dreams in the real world, we are left with a shift into alternative harmonic and transcendental dimensions.

Screening followed by a conversation with Diogo Baldaia and Pedro Dourado (bookseller and programmer).