The 2025 Doclisboa unfolds in Lisbon from 16–26 October, bringing 200+ films, debates and warm-ups across Culturgest, Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa and more. Modern Times Review will be on the ground with Industry Editor Steve Rickinson reporting, and we also publish an in-depth interview with the festival’s new director, Hélder Beja, on curatorial direction, premieres and politics.
Follow Editor-in-Chief Truls Lie on Telegram and Industry Editor Steve Rickinson on Twitter. Join our Facebook Group, Modern Times Review, for an uncensored conversation on all things «Modern Times». And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky.
News
Doclisboa 2025 announces opening/closing films and first program highlights
Interview
«We do not believe in neutrality»
Inside Doclisboa 2025, Hélder Beja outlines political choices, funding hurdles, and urgent premieres across Portugal and Benelux this October in Lisbon.
Films
Ghost Elephants
Director: Werner Herzog
With Ghost Elephants, Werner Herzog creates another work within his transgressive anthropology.
Nova ‘78
Director: Rodrigo Areias, Aaron Brookner
An electrified archive of 1978’s Nova Convention with Burroughs, Ginsberg, Cage, Smith colliding in a space where theory met punk poetry on 16mm.
The Long Road to the Director’s Chair
Director: Vibeke Løkkeberg
Restored 1973 footage from Berlin’s Women’s Film Seminar amplifies women’s voices on authorship abortion rights and power still urgent in today’s media.
The Tree of Authenticity
Director: Sammy Baloji
Through evocative imagery and sound, The Tree of Authenticity challenges colonial legacies in the Congo Basin, giving the forest agency beyond human-dominated histories.
Toni, My Father
Director: Anna Negri
From prison rituals to 1970s utopias, Anna Negri’s film reframes Toni Negri beyond labels, tracing conatus, family conflict, and the power of happy passions.
Now Available
