Past Film/Video | Contemporary Screen

Vitalina Varela

(Pedro Costa, 2019)

Ventura sits in shadow behind his wife, Vitalina Varela, both looking offscreen towards a light and surrounded by wooden chairs.
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Mar 27, 2020–Apr 09, 2020

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We've partnered with our friends at Grasshopper Films so you can watch Vitalina Varela from home. Stream the film now—a portion of the ticket price goes to support the Wex.

In his latest film, acclaimed Portuguese director Pedro Costa once again explores life in Lisbon’s Fontainhas shantytown with revelatory visual and emotional depth. The film follows stoic, middle-aged Vitalina—the real name of this nonprofessional lead actor—as she returns to Lisbon from Cape Verde to bury her dead husband (who abandons her in Costa’s 2014 film Horse Money) and sift through the secret life he led away from her. (124 mins., DCP) Costa visited the Wex in 2008 for a retrospective of his remarkable films.

"Conjures dark, dreamlike visions of post-colonial neglect and yearning that hover somewhere between fantasy and neorealism, horror and melodrama, spirituality and desperation."
IndieWire
Ventura sits in shadow behind his wife, Vitalina Varela, both looking offscreen towards a light and surrounded by wooden chairs.

Vitalina Varela, image courtesy of Grasshopper films

Tears fill Vitalina’s eyes as she leans against a bare, rough interior wall.

Vitalina Varela, image courtesy of Grasshopper films

A rough doorway frames protagonist Vitalina’s face as she looks out from a dark interior space.

Vitalina Varela, image courtesy of Grasshopper films

A metal ring with radiating spokes fills the foreground and forms a frame for the face of Vitalina’s husband, Ventura.

Vitalina Varela, image courtesy of Grasshopper films

In a closeup, Vitalina raises her hands to either side of her head.

Vitalina Varela, image courtesy of Grasshopper films

Tag(s)

MADE POSSIBLE BY
Greater Columbus Arts Council
Ohio Arts Council
American Electric Power Foundation
The Columbus Foundation
Bob and Mary Kidder
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Nationwide Foundation 

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Huntington Bank
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Kaufman Development
Cardinal Health Foundation

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Still from the Pedro Costa film Vitalina Varela
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Past Film/Video

Vitalina Varela

Mar 27, 2020–Apr 09, 2020
Thursday's Hours 10AM–8PM

STREAM ONLINE
$12 to stream via Grasshopper Films
A portion of your purchase supports the Wex

Become a Member