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On board film festival

Altitude Film Fest: we take international cinema to new heights!

Cinema flies higher with the Altitude Film Fest

With a notable participation of national and international filmmakers, the Altitude Film Fest kicks off the final phase of its second edition.

Applicants submitted short films of up to 30 minutes, with the condition that part of the work was filmed in Portuguese territory and / or highlighted the culture and traditions of Portugal, bringing to life the central mission of the Altitude Film Fest: to promote Portugal through the celebration of cinema.

After this phase, the jury carefully selected ten finalist films – five fiction films and five documentaries – that went on to be voted on TAP’s onboard entertainment system, where very special juries had the final word: the passengers.

On 5 November, World Cinema Day, we celebrated the winners in each category.

Find them here:

Elderly man walks hand-in-hand with a child by the seaside, next to a stone breakwater and lighthouse on a beach; the Altitude Film Fest logo, with "Winner 2025," is superimposed at the center of the image.

Between Earth and Heaven

directed by Luis Dalvan

A young girl and an older woman, both smiling, carry a laundry basket outdoors at dusk, bathed in golden light with blurred vegetation in the background; the Altitude Film Fest logo, indicating Winner 2025, is superimposed at the center.

Mother

directed by Carla Miranda

Meet the finalists

Four middle-aged women talk cheerfully in a cozy living room, sitting on a sofa and chairs around a coffee table with cups, pastries, and crockery; homely environment with warm lighting.

¼ of Glória

Directed by: Rafaela Gomes (Portugal)

Glória is an ubiquitous matriarch, a woman from the outskirts of Braga whose presence endures in the memories of all those who knew her.

An elderly man walks along the beach with a child, both holding hands and near the sea water; in the background, a seawall and a lighthouse by the ocean.

Between Earth and Heaven

Directed by: Luis Dalvan (Brazil)

A visual poem about the soul of Portugal, where time does not pass — it only breathes. The lighthouse guides those who depart and brings them back, as if to a home crafted from water and sky.

A caver wearing a helmet and protective clothing lights up an area of a large cave, suspended by ropes between rocky walls, in a low-light environment.

The Magpie of Algar da Malhada

Directed by: Joana Saraiva Marques (Portugal)

Prompted by a challenge from National Geographic, photographer Filipe Patrocínio undertakes the daring mission of photographing a fossilized magpie.

Two adult women, one in a yellow jacket on the phone with a worried expression, the other sitting in the background looking serious, at the doorway of a run-down building with graffiti on the walls, in an urban neighborhood setting.

MAIO

Directed by: Claudio Carbone (Italy)

Cátia, one of the few remaining residents of Lisbon's 6 de maio neighborhood, is fighting to keep her home as her community faces evictions and demolitions.

Young man with green-dyed hair lying on his side on a dark bedspread that appears to be on a bed, several piercings and tattoos visible on his arm and shoulder, in a relaxed pose.

TRAPSTARZ

Directed by: Gonçalo Loureiro (Portugal)

TRAPSTARZ follows the coming-of-age of three youths from a small provincial town who dream of becoming the next idols of the 'trap' scene.

A grey-bearded man, wearing a torn suit, is lying on his side unconscious or dead on a wooden platform by the edge of a lake or river, with rocks and vegetation in the background. The man's expression is serene, and there is another partially visible blurred figure behind him.

Pebble

Directed by: Paulo Abreu (Portugal)

Three men wash ashore in a forgotten corner of the world, where time seems to stand still. Surrounded by volcanic rocks and tides, they are trapped in a place as beautiful as it is hostile.

A group of young men sitting outdoors in a courtyard with serious expressions, some in tank tops, others in brown uniforms; two men in uniform stand observing in the background.

Soldier of Goa

Directed by: Thomás Fenn (Portugal)

In the 1960s, Fernando, a young Portuguese soldier, is arrested in Goa following the invasion by Indian troops.

A young woman with a serious expression and fixed gaze, dark brown hair, photographed in close-up with a blurred background lit by golden light.

Strangers

Directed by: Carolina Afonso (Portugal)

A woman is visited by a stranger who brings the consequences of a past crime.

A young girl and an older woman, both smiling, carry a laundry basket outdoors, illuminated by golden evening light, with blurred vegetation in the background.

Mother

Directed by: Carla Miranda (France)

Carmen, 25, artist and dancer, returns to her parents' home to celebrate her mother Maria's 60th birthday. Out of love, she will try to rekindle a spark of hope and freedom within her.

Four young people standing around a Yamaha motorcycle parked outdoors, talking and smiling; school building visible in the background.

Flying Carpet

Directed by: Justin Amorim (Canada)

Based on one of the several true stories behind Portugal's largest case of institutionalized pedophilia, "Flying Carpet" follows Ricardo, a teenager struggling to break free from the merciless reality that suffocates him.