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Art - Cinema



Writing & Research


I work through practice-based research
— where artistic inquiry, writing, and collaboration
 trace the paths of my work, from reflection to creation.

TEXTS ON RESEARCH & PRACTICE
Publications

TALKS & SEMINARS
Research in Dialogue

WRITING ALONGSIDE RESEARCH
EdIsmenia

PROJECTS IN MOTION
Writing & Research

MEDIA
Articles & Interviews

PEDAGOGICAL & SOCIAL
Projects


Texts on Research and Practice

Publications


This section gathers academic and artistic research—spanning publications, essays, and contributions that deepen the dialogue between art, memory, and materiality. I believe research should be open and accessible, and here I share my work as an invitation to further reflection and exchange.



Doctoral Research

Lá em Baixo: une cinécriture située du folklore de l'immigration portugaise en France au XXIᵉ siècle

PhD in Romance Studies, recherche-création. Université Paris Nanterre, École doctorale 138, EA 369 Études Romanes, CRILUS. Supervised by Prof. Graça dos Santos. Defence November 2026.

Archival research at the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo, Lisbon (2018 and 2019), supported by the AMI Doctorants grant of the Île-de-France Region.

The thesis proposes a grammar shared between weaving and film, developed through reading Anni Albers.

Matter. Fibre, surface and the quality of touch become direct sound, voices, frames, off-screen space and duration.

Time. The slowness of the loom, where each step advances the weft by a single thread, becomes the length of a shot.

Structure. What weaving calls the weave, film thinks as dramaturgy: a non-linear arrangement of sequences, their returns and echoes.

Juxtaposition. What holds threads in relation without touching, film performs through editing that brings shots close without merging them.



Articles

"Préhistoire du geste créatif : pratiques filmiques et transmission folklorique en contexte migratoire", Littera Incognita, no. 14, 2026.

[Read the Article]




"Lá em Baixo : une approche en immersion cinématographique", Reflexos, no. 10, December 2025.

[Read the Article]




"Chanter le quotidien : une approche filmique du folklore portugais en France", in Luiz Oosterbeek and João Fernando Igansi Nunes (eds.), Communities in Transformation: Transdisciplinary Contributions for Cultural Integrated Landscape Management, ARKEOS – Perspetivas em Diálogo, vol. 60. Mação: Instituto Terra e Memória, 2026, pp. 56–66. ISBN 978-989-35056-7-0.

[Read the Article]







FIO! Le Fil Intangible : Geste, Trace, Mémoire (2025)

Intangible Thread: Gesture, Trace, Memory · Fio Intangível: Gesto, Traço, Memória

Exhibition catalogue, Mémoire de l'Avenir, Paris. Artistic direction, design, edition and curation: Margalit Berriet. Co-curation: Helen Margaret Giovanello. Editorial: Ana Isabel Freitas and Helen Margaret Giovanello. Preface by Ana Isabel Freitas and Margalit Berriet. With poems by António Cabral.
Trilingual: French, English, Portuguese. 109 pages.
Limited print edition of 50, distributed by the Librairie Portugaise et Brésilienne, Paris. Free PDF edition available.
Published for the exhibition at Mémoire de l'Avenir, Paris, 12 September to 7 November 2025.

[Read the catalogue]


Master’s in Cinema – Final Thesis

Cinema Autobiográfico: Materialidade das Imagens e Inscrições da Memória (2015) – Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema de Lisboa.

An investigation into autobiographical cinema, exploring the materiality of images and the ways memory is inscribed in film.

[Read the Full Text]

A page from my master's thesis, annotated and signed by Agnès Varda. My doctoral research is built on cinécriture, the term she coined.




Fine Arts Degree – Final Project

O Corpo, Entre a Vida e a Pintura (2013) – Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto.

Exploring the relationship between body, movement, and painting through experimental visual processes.

[Read the Full Text]




Interview-Based Research
As part of my artistic and academic exploration, I have conducted interviews with artists and practitioners whose work engages with memory, materiality, and the body. These conversations serve as a resource for research and dialogue in contemporary art.

Dalila Gonçalves – Work & Discourse (2012)

An in-depth interview and analysis of the artistic practice of Dalila Gonçalves, exploring themes of ephemerality, natural materials, and site-specific interventions.

[Read the Full Interview]

Manuela Barile – Performance, Voice, and Video (2013)

A conversation with performance and video artist Manuela Barile on the intersections of voice, ritual, and the body in contemporary artistic practice.

[Read the Full Interview]

Talks and Seminars
Research in Dialogue

Conferences, seminars, and guest lectures where my research is shared and discussed. Here, writing and ideas take shape through conversation, debate, and public engagement.


Conferences & Colloquia

Public presentations of research in academic and cultural spaces—where ideas are shared, debated, and expanded through dialogue.

2026

International Interdisciplinary Colloquium "Tramas do Quotidiano sob o Estado Novo: Poder, Práticas e Mediações" – University of Geneva (Uni Dufour), Switzerland.
Presentation: Entre a Norma e o Gesto: Quotidiano dos Ranchos Folclóricos sob o Olhar do Estado Novo, based on archival research at the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo. Organized by Nazaré Torrão and Sofia L. Borges (Cátedra Lídia Jorge).

2025

International Colloquium "De l'Histoire aux Histoires. Relire et Revoir l'Œuvre de Maria Isabel Barreno au XXIe Siècle" – CRILUS, University of Paris Nanterre and Maison du Portugal André de Gouveia, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, France.
Roles: Co-organizer (doctoral team) & Speaker at the panel Écrire et Penser le Social, with the presentation Imagination et Folklore en Migration: Une Lecture Située d'Un Imaginaire Européen de Maria Isabel Barreno.
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Round Table "Déracinée(s)" – Cycle Femmes en Guerre, Hauts Lieux de la Mémoire Nationale en Île-de-France (ONACVG), Mémoire de l'Avenir Gallery, Paris, France.
Roles: Speaker as Artist of the exhibition FIO – Le Fil Intangible: Geste, Trace, Mémoire, alongside historian Fatima Besnaci-Lancou and journalist Hanae Bossert.
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APHELEIA International Seminar "Communities in Transformation" – Mação, Portugal.
Presentation: Voix en mouvement.


2024

International Colloquium "De la Pauvreté: Histoires, Représentations et Arts" – University of Paris Nanterre and Maison du Portugal André de Gouveia, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, France.
Roles: Co-organizer & Screening of Cá e Lá – 40 Years on Stage, from the archives and testimonies of the bilingual company Cá e Lá.
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International Colloquium “Mémoire(s) de l’Immigration Portugaise en France” – University of Caen Normandie, France.
Presentation: Lá em Baixo: An Immersive Cinematographic Approach to the Folklore of Portuguese Immigration in France.
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International Colloquium “Échos d’Avril en France, Regards et Mouvements d’Hier et d’Aujourd’hui” – University of Paris Nanterre, France.
Roles: Speaker at the panel Corps et Mouvements: Regards et Approches Renouvelées & Co-organizer of the colloquium.
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Summer School EDUC – University of Pécs, Hungary.
Participation: Researcher in an international program exploring interdisciplinary methodologies.


2021

Finale Locale du Concours “Ma Thèse en 180 Secondes” – ComUE UPL, France.
Participation: Presented my research on the folklore of Portuguese immigration in France.


2019

International Colloquium "Domestiques et domesticité dans les pays de langues romanes hier et aujourd'hui: Employé(e)s ou esclaves?" – University of Paris Nanterre, France.
Role: Co-organizer.


2018

International Colloquium "Voir/Revoir: Revenir sur les traces, définir le présent. La Péninsule Ibérique après la dictature" – University of Paris Nanterre, France.
Roles: Speaker & Co-organizer.
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Table Ronde: “Une Femme te Regarde – La Place des Réalisatrices dans le Monde du Cinéma” – Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, France.
Roles: Organizer and Speaker within the Femmes dans le Monde project.
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Table Ronde & Screening: “Donner la Parole au Fait d’Être une Femme” – Sabrosa, Portugal.
Roles: Organizer, Speaker & Screening of Femmes dans le Monde – On Prend la Parole in collaboration with the Municipality of Sabrosa.
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Concours “Francosphères” – France.
Participation: Presented a science outreach video titled La Tradition et le Folklore de l’Immigration Portugaise en France.



Lectures & Guest Teaching

Invited lectures and teaching engagements in academic settings, fostering the exchange between artistic research and pedagogy.

Explore Further

2020 – 2024 | Teaching & Pedagogical Engagements

Université Paris Nanterre, ESCE International Business School

As a lecturer and foreign language instructor, I have designed and taught courses in Portuguese language, culture, and interdisciplinary studies, engaging students through research-led and practice-based methodologies.

•Lecturer in Portuguese Language and Culture (2021-2023) – Université Paris Nanterre

•Course Instructor: International Cultural Professions – Performing Arts & Multimedia (2020-2021, 2024) – Université Paris Nanterre

•Portuguese Language Instructor (2024) – ESCE International Business School

Beyond classroom instruction, I have mentored students in creative projects, including the audiovisual work O Corpo (2023), and contributed to academic initiatives promoting Portuguese language and Lusophone cultural studies
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2011 – 2013 – Universidade Júnior, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto (FBAUP)

Instructor for photography and printmaking workshops, introducing young students to artistic experimentation in a university setting.

Writing ALONGSIDE research

Creative writing that runs parallel to the academic work and feeds it. Published under EdIsmenia, an imprint named after my paternal grandmother, these works move between personal narrative and imagined worlds.





Chuva, Choro, Douro, Amor

A story of love, resilience, and the land that shapes us.

This book follows João and Teresa through the defining moments of a life molded by the terraced landscapes of the Douro, both beautiful and unforgiving, by migration, faith, and fate. A reflection of many lives, of the people of this region.

João and Teresa were my grandparents. The book was written alongside my first film, Uma Vindima: the two were composed in parallel.

First edition: Artelogy, September 2015. ISBN 978-989-770-265-5.
Second edition, expanded with the complete collection of my own original illustrations: EdIsmenia, January 2020.

Available on Amazon → Buy Here





História de Era, Uma e Vez

A tale about the origins of dreams.

Four characters embark on a journey into a magical forest where each will find themselves. A fantastic story for those who wish to discover why books begin with “Once upon a time…”

This edition features a series of hand-printed woodcut illustrations. Technique: oil-based ink on paper, printed manually from carved wooden plates (one per color).

Edismenia, January  2020.

Available on Amazon → Buy Here

📖 Note: These books are available exclusively in Portuguese (original language).

Projects in Motion - WRITING & Research


This section gathers projects that are currently in progress.

Here, you can follow ongoing research, writing, and creative inquiries—expanding from previous explorations. 

As they evolve, so will this page.