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Huelva Festival Awards: ‘Portrait of a Certain Orient,’ ‘Manas’ Triumph as Brazilian Movie Renaissance Builds

‘Memories of a Burning Body,’ ‘Biónico’s Bachata, ‘No Nos Moverán,’ ‘Baby’ also win out in a strong main Competition.

Shot in black-and-white and a 4:3 box format, “Portrait,” which took Huelva’s Best Picture Golden Columbus, tells a tender, lamenting parable of the tragedy of bigotry and patriarchy, as Emir, a Lebanese Catholic, bound on a ship to Brazil in the 1940s, neurotically opposes sister Emilie’s courtship by an engaging Muslim emigré, Omar. Some of recent excitement around Brazilian cinema has come from the emergence of a new generation of young female directors, whether of titles this decade, Flávia Neves’ (“Fogaréu”), Iuli Gerbase’s (“The Pink Cloud”), Thais Fujinaga (“The Joy of Things”) and Carolina Markowicz (“Charcoal,” “Toll”). Fruit of another building film scene, Costa Rica’s, Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’ “Memories of a Burning Body,” its International Feature Oscar entry, walked off with a Huelva best director statue, which adds to its Berlinale 2024 Panorama Audience Award.

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