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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Portugal

The Domain wins big at the eighth edition of Portugal’s Sophia Awards

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- Variações: Guardian Angel, the most-watched Portuguese film in national cinemas in 2019, received seven gongs

The Domain wins big at the eighth edition of Portugal’s Sophia Awards
The Domain by Tiago Guedes

The Domain [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tiago Guedes
film profile
]
, directed by Tiago Guedes, has emerged as the winner of the eighth edition of the Sophia Awards. The ceremony was originally scheduled for March, but owing to the pandemic, it was postponed until 17 September.

It was a big night for Guedes: The Domain received the Best Feature Film Award as well as six other gongs, out of a total of 15 nominations. Besides winning seven awards for The Domain (including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay), he also picked up the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for his other recent feature, Sadness and Joy in the Life of Giraffes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
.

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The Best Feature Film Award was given to Paulo Branco, producer of The Domain, who decided to leave it unclaimed for the time being, stating that he would not take it until next year or until things changed in the industry (as, according to Branco, there is a major lack of camaraderie and too many small-time guerrillas amongst the professionals working in the sector).

João Maia’s Variações: Guardian Angel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
was the most-nominated film at this edition, after being the big box-office success of 2019 in Portuguese cinemas (taking 278,826 admissions). The film also received seven awards, including Best Actor for Sérgio Praia in his role as António Variações, and Best Supporting Actor for Filipe Duarte, who passed away in April.

Diamantino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Sc…
film profile
]
by Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt, and Vitalina Varela [+see also:
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trailer
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]
by Pedro Costa, were also two of the most-nominated films. The former received the Award for Special Effects while the latter ended up with no trophies at all.

Moving from fiction to documentaries, Until Porn Do Us Part [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Jorge Pelicano snagged the Best Documentary Award, and Leonor Noivo’s Reynard scooped the Best Documentary Short Film Award. Talking of shorts, Uncle Thomas, Accounting for the Days by Regina Pessoa took home the Best Short Animated Film Award, and A Fábrica by Diogo Barbosa walked away with the Best Short Fiction Film Award.

The ceremony also provided a platform for statements regarding the present instability in the film sector, as well as – and mainly – a lot of words of solidarity for the professionals who work in this domain. This was something echoed, for example, by Sandra Faleiro, who won the Best Actress Award for The Domain, and Edgar Medina (the co-creator and producer of South, which pocketed the Best TV Series Award).

The eighth edition of the Sophia Awards also featured a (video) statement from Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa: the Portuguese president stated that he is closely following “the legal problems, bureaucratic issues, budget constraints and lack of cultural and political sensibility” affecting Portuguese films, whilst also praising the sector, which produces “frequently award-winning films”.

Here is the full list of Sophia Award winners:

Best Film
The Domain [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tiago Guedes
film profile
]
- Tiago Guedes (Portugal/France)

Best Director
Tiago Guedes – The Domain

Best Documentary
Until Porn Do Us Part [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Jorge Pelicano (Portugal)

Best Television Film or Miniseries
South - Edgar Medina, Guilherme Mendonça, Ivo M Ferreira (Portugal)

Best Actress
Sandra Faleiro - The Domain

Best Actor
Sérgio Praia - Variações: Guardian Angel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Portugal)

Best Supporting Actress
Ana Vilela da Costa - The Domain

Best Supporting Actor
Filipe Duarte – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Screenplay
Rui Cardoso Martins, Tiago Guedes - The Domain

Best Adapted Screenplay
Tiago Rodrigues, Tiago Guedes - Sadness and Joy in the Life of Giraffes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Portugal)

Best Cinematography
Janeko Lança Morais - The Domain

Best Film Editing
Roberto Perpignan - The Domain

Best Sound
Tiago Raposinho, Branko Neskov, Joana Niza Braga and Nuno Bento – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Soundtrack
Armando Teixeira – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Original Song
“Quero dar nas Vistas” – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Artistic Direction
Artur Pinheiro - The Great Mystical Circus [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(Brazil/Portugal/France)

Best Special Effects
Irmã Lúcia, João Rapaz - Diamantino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Sc…
film profile
]
(Portugal/France/Brazil)

Best Costume Design
Patrícia Doria – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Magali Santana, Alexandra Espinhal Ferreira, Gena Ramos – Variações: Guardian Angel

Best Short Documentary Film
Reynard - Leonor Noivo (Portugal)

Best Short Fiction Film
A Fábrica - Diogo Barbosa (Portugal)

Best Short Animation Film
Uncle Thomas, Accounting for the Days - Regina Pessoa (Portugal/Canada/France)

Best Student Film
Loop - Ricardo M Leite (ESMAD)

Career Awards
Directors Alfredo Tropa, António-Pedro Vasconcelos, Fernando Matos Silva

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