Portugal has chosen Catarina Vasconcelos’ debut feature The Metamorphosis of Birds as its submission for the 2022 Best International Feature Oscar.
The decision was made by the Academia Portuguesa de Cinema, which noted that the docu-fiction feature dealt with a grandparents’ love story.
It concerns the death of the director’s paternal grandmother, and is based on family memories of childhood and youth.
The film premiered at last year’s Berlinale where it won the Fipresci Award for best film in the experimental Encounters Section.
The movie enjoyed considerable festival success, winning best film awards at Pesaro, New Horizons, Vilnius, Taipei and Dukufest.
It has been sold to major territories including the U.S., the U.K., China, Italy and Spain.
“The Metamorphosis of Birds” was produced by Joana Gusmão.