João Villas-Boas

On his deathbed, His Majesty Alfredo, King without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories from the time when he dreamt of becoming a fireman. His encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men devoted to love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.

July 1956. Álvaro Cunhal arrives at Peniche Fort and is placed in the most modern and secure prison wing, considered escape-proof. Despite the tight control exercised over the prisoners, Álvaro and his comrades manage to organize a small commune and provide support to the most vulnerable detainees, while looking for a way to escape.

1970. To Fronteira's village arrives a new chief to the Fiscal Guard. With unshakable convictions about the application of the Law, he quickly comes into confrontation with the population, which survives with the practice of smuggling. But a passionate conflict calls into question all your values and your sense of duty, forcing him to make an unexpected and irreversible decision.

Explore hidden desires on a sleepover, fall in love with the handyman and be seduced by a stranger on the beach as you discover why Love Is the Drug. Boys On Film 17 includes nine complete films: Nicholas Colia's "Alex And The Handyman" starring Keaton Nigel Cooke, Aaron Profumo, and Hogan Gorman; Dawid Ullgren's "Mr. Sugar Daddy" starring Bengt C.W. Carlsson and Aleksandar Gajic; Brendon McDonall's "Spoilers" starring James Peake and Tom Mumford; André D. Chambers's "Tellin' Dad" starring Carl Loughlin, Ricky Tomlinson, and Michael Byron; Eyal Resh's "Boys" starring Wyatt Griswold and Pearce Joza; Martin Edralin's "Hole" starring Ken Harrower and Sebastian Deery; Lorelei Pepi's animated "Happy & Gay"; André Santos and Marco Leão's "Pedro" starring Filipe Abreu and Rita Durão; and Anthony Schatteman's "Kiss Me Softly" starring Ezra Fieremans, Marijke Pinoy, and Marc Van Eeghem.

Pedro gets home at dawn. Before the young boy falls asleep, his lonely mother drags him to the beach.

Telenovela star Mariana is on the verge of a nervous breakdown: shooting is not going smoothly, her popularity is waning, and she is forever being hounded by paparazzi. Frustrated, Mariana can't find out who is responsible for these invasions of her privacy. It is the feared 'Paparazzo' Gabriela Santos, who's real name is Juan. One day, Juan and Mariana meet by chance and fall in love. Now Juan must do everything he can to prevent Mariana from discovering his true identity.

The tragic story of the many lives of Father Dinis, his dark origins and his pious works, and the different fates of all those who, trapped in a sinister web of love, hate and crime, cross paths with him through years of adventure.

Gabi, a burn unit nurse, is in charge of the mother of an unborn child, burned and comatose from a serial killer assault. The cop handling the case, a friend of Gabi, asks for her help to identify the serial-killer if she wakes up.

A team-building event goes wrong and brings the owner of an architect studio face-to-face with the lower-class neighborhood that his company is gentrifying.

A group of young people arrive to a mysterious little town to shoot a horror video at a house where a couple has also taken shelter. But the house will not be the only thing that unites them... Fatima, The Collector, gives Joana and Margarida a tuning fork and a flashlight, objects that push them towards a terrifying fate, unleashing paranormal events that will set their past mistakes right. The inexplicable and the supernatural will test their limits, with the destiny of each one of them marked by what they left behind.

Portugal, 1968. Salazar, the fascist dictator who reigned the longest time in the world, falls from a chair and suffers a stroke. When he returns to the São Bento mansion to convalesce, he is no longer President of the Council. But no one tells him the truth: not his faithful housekeeper Maria de Jesus, nor his maids Aparecida, Socorro, and Teresinha, nor his personal doctor. For two years he lives under a meticulously constructed illusion, believing he is still President, until his death in 1970.

Portugal, 1975. A time of rough changes. A young gay artist trapped in a small seaside town ran by communist winds. Al Berto, the writer, embodies an entire moving generation. He and his friends exude youth, eccentricity and hope for the future - but right after the fall of Portugal's dictatorship system, the country is not yet ready for his love story.

An entertaining TV movie that tells us how the transition from the Estado Novo to democracy took place on April 25. All this through the eyes of a child, the daughter of a dutiful employee who always had to submit, even if he disagreed, to his boss's despotism in order to provide for his family. Until the day when she simply wanted to enjoy the day of absolute promise, so long awaited, with her daughter.

When the school year starts at Barra Secondary school, a big artistic contest is launched to find the new talents of tomorrow. All students are excited, but a string of mysterious disappearances preceded by cyberbullying will disturb this cheerful excitement and divide the students. Everyone has something to hide, so everyone could be the next one to disappear...

Whenever the border town of Reino del Duero receives visitors, Fátima, a mysterious woman known as “The Collector,” welcomes them by giving them an object from her strange and unsettling shop. What none of the recipients of this “hospitality” suspect is that these gifts, while seemingly mundane, possess supernatural powers.

The story of Shell, one of several spy networks operating in Portugal during the Second World War. Directed by the British who operated in Portugal between 1941 and 1942, it had a plan to destroy infrastructures and act as a counterintelligence unit in case the country was invaded by the Germans.

The tragic story of the many lives of Father Dinis, his dark origins and his pious works, and the different fates of all those who, trapped in a sinister web of love, hate and crime, cross paths with him through years of adventure and misfortune in the convulsed Europe of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (A longer television version of the film of the same name, released in 2010.)

Maria is a Portuguese woman who emigrates to Vestmannaeyjar, a small and remote island in Iceland, in search of a better life for herself and her teenage daughter, Bela. Away from a past marked by domestic violence and deep secrets, she looks for freedom and a place to be herself. Six months after her arrival, Maria is found lifeless. Her violent death shocks the isolated community and exposes the secrets everyone is keeping. The investigation is placed in the hands of Soffía an Icelandic detective who, as she immerses in the investigation, faces her own crossroads, trying to balance professional duty and the ghosts of her past.

During an eclipse in 1984, an iconic gang of armed robbers is dismantled after robbery of the Banco de Portugal. Part of the group is arrested, the other is murdered. Two members are left together. This event is the result of an anonymous call. Who denounced them? “Racing Horses” tells this gang's story, emphasizing the individual motivations that led each member to choose this way of life. As a backdrop, the bathing area of a Portugal about to enter the European Economic Community.

Álvaro and Maria do Carmo lived happily in Angola. He was a successful businessman and she was a mild mannered housewife. They have two children together, Ana and João, who were studying and living their teenage years in Luanda... Until the day the civil war broke out and everything fell apart. Amidst declarations of independence, a wave of violence breaks out and the established peace and order fades away. In July, 1975, the Mendonça family, along with over five hundred thousand people, leave their belongings behind and embark on an air convoy that would become the biggest exodus in the history of the Portuguese people to a homeland that most only knew from photos and dubbed it Metropolis. In Lisbon, Joaquim and Natália, Álvaro’s brother-in-law and sister, take the Mendonça family in their small apartment, where they will try to get their lives back in order. However, over that hot summer of 1975, the integration seemed to be far from easy.

We are in 1320, in the newly formed country we call Portugal. Isabel, the Holy Queen, is the wife of Dinis, the king, and mother of Afonso, the heir, both involved in a civil war that affects everyone.

A love as large as the world itself... Pedro has just returned to the city where he was born and spent most of his life, but mysteriously disappeared without a trace for 20 years. The reasons for his disappearance have always been cause for speculation, as he was something of a celebrity in the city. Despite always denying any direct responsibility, he was known for performing miracles on people's lives by having them look at themselves from a different perspective. In fact, Pedro has the gift of being able to foresee the future. But his visions can be, at the same time, a blessing and a trap. When he was young, he saw his girlfriend Carmen dressed as a bride laying in a coffin and wearing an engagement ring that he assumed was his. It was as if fate was warning him... Pedro ends up getting involved with Manuela and have a daughter with her named Sofia. Still, he goes through a rough period and receives a serious death threat that makes him leave everything behind.