Widely hailed as one of the most formally inventive directors of our time, Portuguese master Pedro Costa (Horse Money) has made his name telling tragic tales from Lisbon’s impoverished Fontainhas district. Concerning a Cape Verdean woman who arrives in these quarters 25 years after her husband, only to learn that he has recently died, Vitalina Varela may go down as one of Costa’s most spellbinding works. Here is a long, dark night of the soul, appropriately rendered in evocative shades of black.

Director: Pedro Costa
Cast: Vitalina Varela, Ventura, Manuel Tavares Almeida, Francisco Brito, Imídio Monteiro, Marina Alves Domingues

Runtime: 125 mins