Porto

After the Boca do Lixo programme (2012) and his James Benning/Richard Linklater documentary Double Play (2014), a familiar face returns to IFFR as Gabe Klinger presents his debut feature film Porto, a contemplative, warm ode to love. Dusky, mist-shrouded views of the port city provide the backdrop for the lonely American Jake and the light-hearted Frenchwoman Mati’s meeting. A night of recognition, philosophy and physical obsession follows.
Actors Anton Yelchin and Lucie Lucas shine on screen whilst the film oscillates between meeting, farewell and reunion. That one night passes, but also lasts forever. Superbly crafted, yet cinephile Klinger inconspicuously emphasises the emotions in Porto using the medium itself: the contemplative present is ordinary widescreen, the subjective and personal is narrow, warm 8mm. A saudade-laden soundtrack completes this sad love story. 35mm screening on Sat 28 Jan en Sat 4 Feb.