Adaptation, Allegory and the Archive: Contextualising Epistolary Narratives in Contemporary Portuguese Cinema

  • Nuno Barradas Jorge University of Nottingham
Keywords: contemporary Portuguese cinema, epistolary format, film aesthetics, docufiction, adaptation, intertextuality

Abstract

Epistolarity in cinema is commonly understood as a narrative device either fitting the so-called essay film, or resulting from filmic adaptation of literary works. A more nuanced understanding of the workings of this device is observed in films of disparate contemporary Portuguese filmmakers which adapt, rephrase and remediate letters. This article centres its attention on possible tendencies concerning epistolarity in this context, examining films that make use of the personal archive and epistolary voice, or that adapt letters to screen. It also examines filmic works that use the epistolary device to negotiate between emotional expression and historical materiality. Among others, this article discusses films such as Yama No Anata (Aya Koretzy, 2011), Correspondences (Rita Azevedo Gomes, 2016), Letters from War (Ivo M. Ferreira, 2016) and works directed by Pedro Costa and Miguel Gomes.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
View citations

Article download

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2019-11-04
How to Cite
Barradas Jorge N. (2019). Adaptation, Allegory and the Archive: Contextualising Epistolary Narratives in Contemporary Portuguese Cinema. Área Abierta. Revista de comunicación audiovisual y publicitaria, 19(3), 419-438. https://doi.org/10.5209/arab.65472