Mediatec

Documentaries produced in Portugal focus little on subjects connected with nature. This is one of the main reasons that one should pay tribute to this documentary that rivals the BBC or the National Geographic for quality and portrays the indigenous species of the Serra da Arrábida and the Serra do Pisco in the district of Setúbal. It is the result of four years’ intermittent work to familiarise people with unique species from these areas, such as the snail “caracol-da-arrábida” and the variety of euphorbia “trovisco-do-espichel”. It is also possible to discover booted eagles, foxes and dolphins, or the caves and …

On Foot To The End Of The World (GB), 60-minute documentary Synopsis: The film tells the story of a 328-kilometre walk crossing Portugal from Alcoutim to Cape St Vincent. The common thread: over the fortnight, different people crossed the four walkers’ path as they made their way along the old trail of St Vincent. A distiller of medronho firewater, farmers and wine-growers, a chicken farmer, two teachers, a gardener, a retired domestic worker, an olive-oil producer and a shepherd, along with many others. Also appearing in the film is the 82-year-old hermit Manuel Teixeira, the last remaining inhabitant of the dead village of …

When we think about endangered animals, species come to mind such as the Iberian lynx or tuna, much less so sharks. For several generations, you just need to think of sharks to make an instinctive link to Steven Spielberg’s film – and from there it’s only a small step to attacks on humans. But the reality is very different. “Sharkwater”, a documentary by Rob Stewart, sees its mission as being to challenge the false stereotypes which people have about sharks. It shows that these animals are endangered because no one cares about them being hunted. Such indifference gives the shark’s …

The director Jorge Pelicano presents viewers with a thesis. Starting from a case study (the destruction of the vintage Tua railway line in order to construct a dam), he tackles the pressing issue of the abandonment of the interior regions of Portugal. He starts the film with the shocking fact: “34% of the population has abandoned Trás-os-Montes in the past three decades”. And he complements this with a speech by Mário Soares: “The condition of being in the interior has weighed on this area like a judicial sentence and it explains, albeit without justifying them, so many of the shortcomings …

This is about the end of unlimited growth. And it’s about being concerned about life on this planet in the coming 40 years. The book is a challenge to all intelligent young people. Because here an intelligent oldie from our own time is thinking ahead about how linear growth could turn into circular growth, quantitative into qualitative growth. The book entitled 2052 was written by the Norwegian professor Jorgen Randers, a member of the Club of Rome. The “Global Forecast” opens up a perspective for all of those among us who are thinking seriously about such topics as ecology and …