3 free documentaries to watch on the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April

This Thursday is marked by the celebration of the 50th anniversary of April 25th, also known as the Carnation Revolution. To mark this symbolic date, a lot of content has been created about the day of the Revolution itself, but also about the times that preceded or followed it.

In this article we bring together three documentaries about the Estado Novo period, but also about the days of the Carnation Revolution itself. You can watch them all completely free on the RTP Play or YouTube platform

God, Country, Authority

The first documentary on this list is called “God, Fatherland, Authority” and is written by Portuguese filmmaker Rui Simões. This portrays, in its entirety, Salazar’s dictatorial regime, known as Estado Novo.

“The film seeks in a didactic way to show the foundations of the fascist regime during the 48 years of its existence until April 25, 1974”. To do this, it relies on Salazar’s famous speech made in 1936. You will have the entire historical context before, during and until April’s liberation. It is available for free on RTP Play.

Ask Leninha

In this documentary you can learn about the story of Madalena das Dores Oliveira. She was the first woman to become PIDE Brigade Chief and distinguished herself by the inhumane way in which she acted.

The documentary features the testimony of five former political prisoners and is available free of charge on RTP Play.

Portugal 74-75

This documentary by Joaquim Furtado, José Solano de Almeida, Cesário Borga, Isabel Silva Costa portrays not only the April revolution, but also subsequent events. During these years, there was discussion about what ideologies could best defend the interests of the Portuguese.

This documentary is available completely free of charge on YouTube