Meta-drama in which João, the lead actress in a biopic about a gender non-conforming nun persecuted by the Inquisition, battles against the director’s vision over how to best portray their legacy.
In contemporary Lisbon, actress João plays the lead role in a biopic about the gender non-conforming nun Liberada, persecuted by the Inquisition in 18th-century Portugal. Although the director seems to have a penchant for portraying violence and suffering onscreen, Liberada’s story is ultimately one of strength, resilience, and rebellion against established gender roles. João and the director increasingly clash over the question of how Liberada’s legacy should be portrayed, especially when Liberada’s ghost starts haunting João’s dreams. Will she be able to honor Liberada’s story?
A meta work of art—a film about a film that gives new shape to self-reflexive cinema. Two Times João Liberada premiered at the Berlinale and is Paula Tomás Marques’ feature debut. Although fictional, the character of Liberada is based on 17th and 18th-century trial recordings of the Inquisition’s persecution of gender non-conformity.
With the short film Hoe liefde en ik bevriend raakten (2024) as prelude.
Hoe liefde en ik bevriend raakten — Joris Spaanderman (The Netherlands, 32 mins.)
A coming-of-age graduation film in which a student who fell victim to anti-gay violence is forced to move in with his father. Here, the boy struggles with anxious re-experiences and ambivalent memories of a broken relationship. How can he stay receptive to love if, at the same time, he is forced to become thick-skinned?
Content warning: Homophobia
