cinema no pátio: the student of prague, henrik galeen

1926 · germany · 2h 13 min · m/12

One of the classics of Expressionist cinema, The Student of Prague explores the theme of the doppelgänger. Balduin is a young student and skilled fencer who, humiliated by his poverty, agrees to sell his reflection to a sorcerer. Henrik Galeen’s direction is masterful and epitomises German cinema of the era, with shadows, superimpositions, subjective camera work, iris shots and chiaroscuro, creating a powerful and striking visual composition.

under the sign of the double [sob o signo do duplo]

The double can be defined as ‘a self that is simultaneously another’: something which, defying the laws of physics, is not only possible in cinema, but is a theme for which cinema has harboured a particular fondness since its earliest days. Cinema no Pátio presents four proposals centred on the idea of the other-self, between the present and the absent, the reflection and the distortion, and how they all connect to an image of damnation: the double in cinema almost always reflects the accursed, the deception, the perdition.
— Eduardo Brito

Eduardo Brito works in film, writing and photography. In film, he wrote and directed the feature film A Sibila, based on the novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís. He has directed several short films, such as Penúmbria, Declive and Úrsula. He has written the screenplays for several of Rodrigo Areias’s feature films, including O Pior Homem de Londres. In photography and writing, he explores the themes of truth, fiction and memory, as well as the relationship between text and image, as seen, for example, in the books East Ending and Procura Nada. Eduardo holds a Master’s degree in Artistic and Museological Studies from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Porto. He specialised in screenwriting at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV in Cuba. He teaches as a guest lecturer at FBAUP, where he is a PhD candidate in Fine Arts, and at FLUP.

curated by eduardo brito

supported by portuguese republic – culture, youth and sports / general direction of the arts. portuguese contemporary art network (rpac). rtcp – network of portuguese theaters and cinemas.