João Nicolau
João NICOLAU (Lisbon, 1975) is a director, editor, screenwriter and musician. He studied Anthropology and worked with directors like João César Monteiro, Margarida Gil and Miguel Gomes. In 1999, he directs his first film, the documentary Calado não Dá. His short films, Bird of Prey and Song of Love and Health, premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. They were followed by the feature films The Sword and the Rose (Venice 2010), John From (BAFICI 2016) and Technoboss (Locarno 2019). Providence and the Guitar (2026) is the opening film of IFFR 2026.
Filmography
Calado Não Dá (1999, short, doc), Rapace (2006, short), Song of Love and Health (2009, short), The Sword and the Rose (2010), O Dom Das Lágrimas (2012, short), Gambozinos (2013, short), John From (2015), Technoboss (2019), Providence and the Guitar (2026)
João Nicolau at IFFR
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Providence and the Guitar
João Nicolau | 125' | Portugal | World premiere
Leon and Elvira are two performers trying to keep their stage careers afloat in this romantic and witty fable. -
Alpha
Miguel Fonseca | 28' | Portugal | None
Miguel Fonseca’s first film. Highly stylised, literary in tone, it’s ultimately a disarmingly intriguing and beautifully-shot android romance. -
Redemption
Miguel Gomes | 27' | France | Dutch Premiere
Highlight of the film year: collage film featuring intimate thoughts from well-known Europeans in bombastic/ironic ‘letters’ from Portugal, Milan, Par -
I tempi felici verranno presto
Alessandro Comodin | 102' | Italy | None
Comodin’s second film (after Summer of Giacomo, IFFR 2012) is one of the most seductive, inimitable films of the year, in which the young direct