The family according to American independent cinema

Perhaps one of the most transversal themes in cinema, but also the one that produces the most diverse representations, the family is the key concept of the new edition of Outsiders, a cycle organized by FLAD – Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento, which in recent years has brought to Cinema São Jorge an indiscreet window into a certain lineage of films: those that escape immediate commercial logic. This does not mean that it is a cinema that is not particularly interested in interacting with the general public. On the contrary, starting tomorrow, to answer the question “What is the American family today?”, the exhibition Outsiders comes to account for what we are losing on the marginal side of American cinema, ending up revealing, once again, that the distance between the big Hollywood machine and the independents is not that big, nor that rigid. Or if it weren’t for the protagonist of the opening film Lily Gladstone, an actress recently nominated for an Oscar, for Martin Scorsese’s film, Flower Moon Assassins.

Talking to the programmer Outsiders, Carlos Nogueira, we noted that, since the 1st edition, at the end of 2021, the cycle has maintained a spirited dialogue with the Oscars, whether because names like Chloé Zhao and Greta Gerwig appeared among others completely unknown, or because the 2nd. th edition has reflected on cinematographic genres, in a celebration of the language and actors who inhabit both worlds. Was it on purpose?

“Since the idea of ​​the cycle is to show that cinema that is off the radar – and to show it because it deserves to be seen, despite the ostracism to which it is voted – the relationship with the Oscars is purely accidental, but it is still curious. The best example is that, when I selected Chloé Zhao in the 1st edition, there was still no Nomadland [Óscar de Melhor Filme em 2021]because this selection was made in 2019, when I had already seen the The Rider [filme exibido no ciclo] and I realized that it was not on the horizon for distribution in Portugal. Only after that did the Nomadland at the Venice Festival, in 2020, etc. Therefore, when we showed The Rider, she was already established and had made a Marvel film, Eternals.”

This year the grace of bringing to the Outsidersright at its start, a film that introduces us to Lily Gladstone before her Oscar nomination – or rather, a film that does not demonstrate any change in profile, but rather highlights the serene nobility of this Native American actress, who It doesn’t take much to leave your mark.

Something that the programmer makes a point of highlighting: “I, before, had only seen it on Certain Women [de Kelly Reichardt], a role that I really liked, and which is very limited in terms of lines, largely based on silence and looks – I read somewhere that Scorsese chose her thanks to that film. And then, in Scorsese’s film, she is again a very… not spectacular character, let’s say, like DiCaprio and De Niro are. She is a remarkable actress, and this film that we are going to show proves that.”

The film is called The Unknown Country, is directed by Morrisa Maltz, and works as a true chronicle of the face of a certain America, as its main character, who hits the road to go to a wedding, when she is still dealing with the loss of her grandmother , becomes a mirror for the souls of the people he meets: using a “documentary” device, Maltz focuses on different human stories that reveal the kindness of strangers. This goes hand in hand with the protagonist’s magnificent solitude.