Ponte das Barcas

MATILDE ALBUQUERQUE

- In Progress -
Ponte das Barcas is an animated short-film about the Ponte das Barcas tragedy in the XIX century in Porto. The tragedy sparks an argument between a devout grandmother and her granddaughter in the present day.

Theme
A peasant girl goes through a series of difficulties trying to escape the French Invasions. When she reaches Porto, a battle breaks out and panic ensues. The population flees across the Ponte das Barcas, which collapses and thousands of people drown. The tragedy was so traumatic that today the people of Ribeira still pay homage to the victims of the event - they call them the Alminhas da Ponte. The peasant girl ended up surviving the tragedy and in one of her escapes found some peace in a friendship with a fearful and demoralized soldier.

More than 200 years after the disaster, a grandmother still lights candles and leaves flowers regularly at the altar built for the Alminhas. We see a parallel between this 21st century grandmother and the peasant girl, who seem to be somewhat connected. However, her granddaughter finds this behavior strange and tries to understand, with the help of her best friend, why her grandmother is so devoted to the Peninsular War.

Characters

Projects

about/contact