In the context of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Cinemateca Portuguesa - Museu do Cinema has programmed an extensive film cycle, taking place between 19 April and 31 May. It consists of 40 films that distinctly feature the sea and which represent the various European filmmaking histories, from Portugal to Eastern Europe, and from silent to contemporary films.

 

The cycle recounts how the topic of the sea has intensively provided sustenance for much of the best of European documentaries and cinema fiction, both as the centre of the narratives or as a visual or poetic element.

 

In its distinct relationship with the sea – from the Atlantic to the North Sea or from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, the geographical and historical diversity of each European country takes on a particular set of characteristics. The cycle sheds light on them by means of very strong cinematographic insights that can reveal the importance of this natural landscape and its specific cultural, social and economic uses.