With the aim of thinking about, valuing and publicising Portugal's film heritage, Batalha curates an annual cycle entirely dedicated to Portuguese cinema and its history, every other Wednesday. It’s a comprehensive yet insightful program, featuring both well-known and lesser-known filmmakers and works, all of which are essential for understanding the foundations of our cinema.

In 2025, the programme restarts with a new team of guest curators proposing a selection of films that will focus on the various territories and transgressions of Portuguese cinema from different eras. The first chapter, entitled "Undergrounds", focuses on fields traditionally less explored by Portuguese cinema — the fantastic, horror and supernatural — in which various filmmakers have sought to sow, taking advantage of the codifications of the genre, fundamental themes for understanding Portuguese communities, social dynamics and psyche.

This segment kicks off with a screening of a silent film "hallucination", A Dança dos Paroxismos, by Jorge Brum do Canto — with live sound by the Ilusão Gótica project and a presentation by researcher José Bértolo. Until March, films by Noémia Delgado, Manuel Guimarães, João Canijo, and others will be showcased.

Curated by Carlos Natálio (professor and film critic), Joana Gusmão (producer and organizer) and Luísa Sequeira (film maker and organizer)

Programme developed with the support of the Cinemateca Portuguesa — Museu do Cinema