UNIA arteypensamiento Workshop on Pedro Costa's Cinematic Realism

UNIA arteypensamiento continues its discursive workshop series Narratives in Fugue with Part IV, focusing on Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa. The workshop examines Costa's rejection of the theoretical division between fiction and documentary, which he terms 'documentaries about sensibilities.' Costa's cinema raises questions about the political power of artistic practice, suggesting new frameworks for commitment in representing reality. His films approach reality without entering it, condensing rather than denouncing it, and resist naturalism by stylizing reality to its essence. Through radical use of time, space, fixed shots, editing, and off-camera sound, Costa reveals the complex reality of a particular world. His films are meticulously constructed in expanded time that persists rather than flows, resisting spontaneity and improvisation while transforming into human and political memory. The workshop aims not to proliferate cultural products but to reflect on cultural action against an industry that absorbs all products. Led by Costa, the three-day event includes morning and afternoon sessions with debates, film viewings, and practical experiments. The workshop was last updated on 30 May 2023.