In which Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries, where people dream of mermaids and whales, and unemployment is spreading. In certain places, forests burn into the night despite the falling rain; men and women long to set out to sea in the middle of Winter. Sometimes there are animals that talk although it is highly improbable that they are listened to. In this country, where things are not what they appear to be, men of power promenade on camels and hide permanent and shameful erections; they await the moment when taxes are collected so they can pay a certain wizard whom ...". And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.

Direction: Miguel Gomes

Script: Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, Telmo Churro

Production: Luís Urbano

Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Editing: Telmo Churro

Production Design: Silvia Grabowski

Costume Design: Silvia Grabowski, Lucha D’Orey

Sound: Vasco Pimentel, Miguel Martins

Cast: Crista Alfaiate, Luísa Cruz, Américo Silva, Adriano Luz, Chico Chapas, Rogério Samora

Original Title: AS MIL E UMA NOITES – VOLUME I, O INQUIETO

Original Language: Portuguese

Film Production Countries: Portugal, Germany, France, Switzerland

Statement of the Director/s
In this film, we intend to do two things simultaneously: 1) to take up the delirious fictional spirit of the 'Arabian Nights' and especially reaffirm, through this and with this the bond that unites the King and Scheherazade (the imperious need for stories), and 2) to outline a portrait or chronicle of Portugal during a whole year (at a time when the country is subject to the effects of 'austerity measures' created by the Troika's financial aid package). Fiction and social portrait, flying carpets and strikes. These are two dimensions that are apparently unrelated or that we have grown used to arrange in different boxes, as it were. But imagination and reality have never been able to exist without each other (and Scheherazade knows this well).

Biography of the Director/s
Miguel Gomes was born in Lisbon in 1972. He studied cinema and worked as film critic for the Portuguese press until the year 2000.
Miguel has directed several short films and made his first feature, THE FACE YOU DESERVE, in 2000. OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) and TABU (2012) came to confirm his success and international recognition. TABU screened in Berlinale's Competition, where it won the Alfred Bauer and FIPRESCI award; the movie was sold to over 50 countries and won dozens of awards.
Retrospectives of Miguel’s work have been programmed at the Viennale, the BAFICI, the Torino FF, in Germany and in the USA. REDEMPTION, his most recent short film, premiered in 2013 at Venice FF.

Filmography:
2000 THE FACE YOU DESERVE
2008 OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST
2012 TABU
2013 REDEMPTION, short

World Sales:
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E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +49 221 539 709 0
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Press:
Wolfgang W. Werner – Public Relations
Wolfgang Werner
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E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +49 89 38 38 670