About

Foundation

Filmes do Gajo is a production company dedicated to cinema, founded in 2011, with the aim of being a place of creative expression and artistic freedom.

Films

2023. Nocturnal
2022. MY DEAR
2021. SCREENER
2020. POISE
2020. WUQIAO CIRCUS
2019. CIRCUS MOVEMENTS
2018. THE BOY AND THE OWL
2018. HISTORIES OF WOLVES
2017. JOHN 746
2016. VOYEUR
2015. CIRCUS DEBERE BERHAN
2015. REHEARSALS
2015. CAROUSEL
2014. The place
2014. WHERE MY FRIEND MADE A PAINTING
2014. SILENCES OF A GESTURE
2013. JOY OF A HOME

Awards & honors

Nocturnal (2023)

Premiere at the 21st DocLisboa, Portugal, 2023. Heart Beat section.

My Dear (2022)

65th San Francisco International Film Festival, USA, 2022. Golden Gate Award Nominee.

ENCOUNTERS LOST IN TIME (2021)

8th Top Indie Film Awards, Japan, 2022. Award Best Original Idea.

SCREENER (2021)

Screening at MACBA's - Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, auditorium.

poise (2020)

15th T-Short Animated Film, Latvia, 2021. Award “For graphic design”.

7th Independent Horror Movie Awards, Online, 2021. Award Best Animated Short, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Atmosphere, Best Original Concept.

Bruges Internacional Film Festival, Belgium, 2021. Award Best Experimental Film.

18th Piriápolis de Película, Uruguay, 2021. Special Jury Mention.

20th Festa Mundial da Animação, 9th Prémio Nacional da Animação (National Animation Award), Portugal, 2021. Award Best Film.

45th CINANIMA - International Animated Film Festival, Portugal, Honorable Mention

6th Genre Celebration Film Festival, Japan, 2021. Award Best Director.

2nd TIFF - Experimental & Animation Without Dialogue (Tatsuno International Film Festival), Japan, 2021. Grand Prix Animation Short Film.

9th Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, USA, 2021. Award Jury Citation.

8th Sydney World Film Festival, Australia, April 2022. Award Best Animated Film.

7th Top Indie Film Awards, Japan, 2022/23. Award Best Animated Short, Best Original Idea, Best Sound.
6th Bang Awards - International Animated Film Festival, Portugal, 2022. Honorable Mention.
5th Linz International Short Film Festival, Austria, 2022. Award Best Animated Film.
14th Shockfest Film Festival, USA, 2022. Golden Reel Award.
7th Underground Indie Film Festival - Horror Cult Sci-Fi Fantasy, USA, 2023. Award Best Animated Short.
9th Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival, Hong Kong, 2023. Award Best Animated Film.

Wuqiao Circus (2020)

40th Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, USA, 2021. Jury’s Choice Award.

2nd Kosice International Monthly Film Festival, Slovakia, May 2021. Honorable Mention.

Short of the Year Winter edition, Online, 2021. Special Jury Mention.

3rd Deep Focus Film Festival, USA, 2021. Honorable Mention.

8th Pink City International Short Film Festival, India, 2021. Award Best Cinematography.

2nd Cinemaking International Film Festival, Bangladesh, 2022. Award Winner.

CIRCUS MOVEMENTS (2019)

57th Ann Arbor Film Festival, USA, 2019. Selected for the Tour in America 2019-2020.

16th VIS Vienna Shorts Festival, Austria, 2019. Top 5 Youth Jury’s Favorites.

22nd Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Greece, 2019. Opening film of the Documentary program.

11th Providence Children’s Film Festival, USA, 2020. Special Jury Award Best Short Live Action Film.

39th Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, USA, 2020. Director’s Choice Award.

30th MediaWave - On the road, Hungary, 2020. Audience Award.

35th Black International Cinema Berlin, Germany, 2020. Best Children Film/Video.

9th On Art Film Festival, Poland, 2020. Honorable Mention.

19th International Kansk Video Festival, Russia, 2020. Award Grand Prix 3rd place.

20th Nevada City Film Festival, USA. 2020. Award Best Documentary Short.

48th Festival of Nations, Austria, 2020. Award Best Upper-Austrian Film.

4th Rolling Ideas, Romania, 2020. Award winner

11th Short Film Factory, Romania, 2020. Award winner.

9th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, India, 2020. Award Best Documentary.

15th Atlanta DocuFest, USA, 2020. Award Best Cinematography.

6th Caribbean Sea International Film Festival, Venezuela, 2021. Award for the Best Documentary Short Film.

3rd Independent Documentary Film Festival Legendary Doc, USA, 2021. Special Mention.

16th Children's Film Festival Seattle (Northwest Film Forum), USA, 2021.

Catbus Kids Youth Jury: Best Documentary Short Film.

Circus International Film Festival, USA, 2021. Honorable Mention.

10th Asti International Film Festival, Italy, 2021. Special Mention for the Cinematography.

Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Brazil, 2021. Award Best Cinematography of Documentary.

International Documentary Film Awards, Slovakia, 2021. Award Best Cinematography.

3rd Deep Focus Film Festival, USA, 2021. Honorable Mention.

6th Sanctuary International Film Festival, Australia, 2021. Honorable Mention.

Latin America Film Awards, Brazil, 2022. Awards Best short documentary, Best director, Best editing.

45th Grenzland-Filmtage Selb International Film Festival, Germany, 2022. Children Film Award.

2nd Golden Lion International Film Festival, India. Award Winner Best Children's Short film.
1st Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria, 2023. Honorable Mention Best Cinematography.

The boy and the owl (2018)

14th Athens Animfest, Greece, 2019. Grand Prix "Athena" Award.

14th Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, USA, 2019. Director's Circle Award.

70th Montecatini International Short Film, Italy, 2019.
Honorable Mention.

18th Festa Mundial da Animação, Portugal, 2019.
Honorable Mention.

39th Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, USA, 2020. Director’s Choice Award.

Selecionado para o Plano Nacional de Cinema, Portugal, 2019-2020.

14th Festival Internacional Kolibri del Audiovisual para la Niñez y la Adolescencia, Bolivia, 2020.
Award Best Animation.

2nd Monochrome film Festival, UK, 2020.
Award Best Animated Film.

42nd Semana de Cine de Lugo, Spain, 2020. Special Mention.

Selecionado para o Plano Nacional de Cinema, Portugal, 2020-2025.

New Jersey Independent Film Festival - Park Performing Arts Center, USA, 2021. Award Best Animated Film.

14th Cine del Mar, Punta del Este, 2021, Uruguay. Special Mention by the Jury.

4th Polar Bear International Film Festival, 2021, Denmark. Award “Communicate through picture”.

13th Corti in Cortile International Short Film Festival, Italy, 2021. Honorable Mention.

6th Sanctuary International Film Festival, Australia, 2021. Honorable Mention.

2nd Cinemaking International Film Festival, Bangladesh, 2022. Award Winner.

10th Azores Fringe Festival, Portugal, June 2022. Audience Award.
7th Genre Celebration Festival, Japan, 2022. Award Winner Best Fantasy Short.
6th Reale Film Festival, Italy, 2022. Award Winner Best Animated Film.
2nd Golden Lion International Film Festival, India, 2023. Award Winner Best Silent Short Film.
2nd Knight of the Reel Awards, India, 2023. Family/Children Film Critics Choice Award Winner.
3rd Life Beyond Life Film Festival, Italy, 2023. Special Mention Award.
2nd Frida Film Festival, France, 2023. Award Best Animation.

Histories of wolves(2018)

21st Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF), 2018, Mexico. Award Best International Short Documentary.

Elegível para os Oscars 2019 (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards in the Documentary Short Subject category), devido ao prémio no 21st Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico.

5th Curt'Arruda, Portugal, 2018. Award Best International Short.

19th Encontros de Cinema de Viana, Portugal, 2019. Honorable mention.

16th FIKE - Festival Internacional de Curtas Metragens de Évora, Portugal. Award best documentary.

36th Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran, 2019. Award best documentary.

36th Autrans International Mountain Film Festival, France, 2019. Award for First Documentary Film.

39th Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, USA, 2020. Jury’s Choice Award.

5th Winter Apricots Prilep International Film Festival, North Macedonia, 2020. Award Best Sound.
3rd Annual Indy Film Library Awards, Netherlands, 2021. Best Short Documentary Film - Special Commendation & Audience Choice Award.
7th Independent Horror Movie Awards, Online, 2021. Award Best Documentary Short.
The International Outdoor Documentary Film Festival of China - OUTDOCS, China, 2021. Award Best Short.
Festival Internacional Fernando Lopes - Alvaiázere Cine de Curtas Metragens - I FIFLAC, Portugal, 2021. Award Best Short Documentary.

4th Deep Focus Film Festival, USA, 2022. Honorable Mention.

JOHN 746 (2017)

15th DocLisboa, Portugal, 2017. Award for Best Young Director.

2nd Global India Film Festival, India, 2019. Award Best Message.

CIRCUS DEBERE BERHAN (2015)

12th Asterfest International Film Festival, North Macedonia, 2016. Auteurs Award.

32rd Black International Cinema Berlin, Germany, 2017. Award best director.

where my friend made a painting (2014)

18th International S. Film Festival Cinemaiubit, Romania, 2014. Award "Nina Behar" best documentary.

silences of a gesture (2014)

12th Cinemadamare International Film Festival, Italy. Semi-final Gold Epeius Award.

the joy of a home (2013)

5th Festival Vista Curta, Portugal, 2014. Award Best Documentary.

restless (2011)

8th MIFEC, Portugal, 2011. Award best short.

7th Faial Filmes Fest, Portugal, 2011. Award best short.

6th Competition Fundação INATEL, Portugal, 2011. Honorable mention.

With selections

65th San Francisco International Film Festival, USA. 57th Ann Arbor Film Festival, USA. 68th & 69th Melbourne IFF, Australia. 55th Krakow Film Festival, Poland. 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands. 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong. 16th, 17th & 19th VIS Vienna Shorts Festival, Austria. 26th Slamdance Film Festival, USA. 23rd PÖFF Shorts - Tallinn Black Nights FF, Estonia. 25th Hotdocs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Canada. 34th Guadalajara IFF, Mexico. 42nd LUCAS, Germany. 21st Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico. 36th Busan International Short FF, South Korea. 41st Amiens International Film festival (FIFAM), France. 15th & 17th Indielisboa, Portugal. 12th & 15th Doclisboa, Portugal. 46th & 48th Athens International Film + Video Festival, USA. 32nd & 36th Hamburg International Short Film Festival - 18th & 22nd Mo&Friese Children’s Short Film Festival Hamburg, Germany. 30th St. Louis International Film Festival, USA. 42nd & 45th Cinanima, Portugal. 22nd Full Frame, USA. 15th True / False, USA. 30th Festival Curta Cinema, Brazil. 28th Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart (ITFS), Germany. 20th & 21st Nevada City Film Festival, USA. 20th Milano Film Festival, Italy. 67th Trento Film Festival, Italy. 22nd Astra Film Festival, Romania. 29th & 31st CineMagic, UK. 10th New York City IFF, USA. 33rd & 34th Stuttgarter Filmwinter - Festival for Expanded Media, Germany. 43rd The Norwegian Short Film Festival, Norway. 32nd Filmfest Dresden, Germany. 70th Montecatini, Italy. 20th & 22nd Olympia IFF, Greece. 39th & 40th Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, USA. 37th Festival international de Cinéma Vues d’Afrique, Canada. 15th Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival, USA. 34th International FF Uruguay. 28th New York African Film Festival, USA. 22nd Maryland Film Festival, USA. 10th Berlin International Directors Lounge - Contemporary art and media, Germany. 23rd REGARD Saguenay, Canada. 16th Film ethnographique, Canada. 41st Amiens International Film festival (FIFAM), France. 40th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA. 22nd Astra, Romania. 32nd & 35th Black International Cinema Berlin, Germany. 8th Go Short, Netherlands. 34th International Film Festival of Uruguay. 74th & 75th Festival Internazionale Cinema di Salerno, Italy. 36th Autrans International Mountain Film Festival, France. 11th Ghent Viewpoint, Belgium. 9th Aesthetica, UK. 36th & 37th Tehran Short FF, Iran. 40th Duisburger, Germany. 13th & 17th Crossing Europe, Austria. 39th Outdoor Grenoble, France. 13th Reykjavik, Iceland. 28th DokumentART, Germany. 33rd & 34th Braunschweig, Germany. 39th Festival Tous Courts of Aix-en-Provence, France. 30th Arizona International Film Festival, USA. 11th Providence Children’s Film Festival, USA. 14th Viscult Film Festival of anthropological and ethnographic documentaries, Finland. 29th, 30th & 33rd Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, Estonia. 48th & 49th Festival of Nations, Austria. 24th VideoEx, Switzerland. 16th Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival, USA. 10th & 13th EthnoCineca - International Ethnographic and Documentary Film Festival Vienna. 24th Mecal Pro, the Barcelona International Short and Animation Festival, Spain. 14th & 15th Cinedans – Dance on Screen Festival, Netherlands. 30th & 31st MediaWave Film Festival, Hungary. 33rd Aguilar Film Festival, Spain. 23rd The Independent Days International Filmfestival, Germany. 23rd BAMKids Film Festival NY, USA. 19th International Kansk Video Festival, Russia. 37th Bellaria Film Festival, Italy. 46th Curtas - Festival Internacional de Cine de Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain. 35th Cartoon Club – International Festival of Animation Cinema, Italy. 16th & 18th Piriápolis de Película, Uruguay. 17th Imaginaria Film Festival, Italy. 37th & 42nd Semana Internacional de Cine de Autor, Lugo, Spain. 30th & 34th Frauen Film Festival, Germany. 33rd Aguilar Film Festival, Spain. 32nd Society Anthropology Film, Canada. 16th & 18th Indy Film Fest, USA. 41st Brussels Independent Film Festival, Belgium. 12th Brussels Independent Short Film Festival. 24th Cine-Maniacs Filmfest, Germany. 39th Asolo Art Film Festival, Italy. 32nd Girona Film Festival, Spain. 13th Baixada Animada - Mostra Ibero-Americana de Cinema de Animação, Brasil. 20th Flensburger Kurzfilmtage, Germany. 25th International Video Poetry Festival VideoBardo, Argentina,. 10th NY Portuguese Short Film Festival, USA, Portugal. 9th MakeDox Creative Documentary Film Festival, Macedonia. 16th International Film Festival of Lanzarote, Spain. 17th Cellu l’art international short film festival, Germany. 16th Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes Cine a la Calle, Colombia. 15th Doxs! Documentaries for children and youth, Germany. 14th Rock This Town Festival, France. 11th STLOUIS'DOCS, Senegal. 11th Milwaukee Film Festival, USA. 5th Kyiv International Short Film Festival, Ukraine. 23rd Maremetraggio ShorTS International Film Festival, Italy. 10th FENACO International Short film Festival, Peru. 15th Madurai Film Festival, India. 8th Pravo Ljudski Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 8th and 9th On Art Film Festival, Poland. 12th Banjaluka International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 12th Cinemadamare International Film Festival, Italy. 12th DocuWest Documentary Film Festival, USA. 13th & 16th World Film Festival, Estonia. 16th BuSho (Budapest Short) Film Festival, Hungary. 14th Mosaic World Film Festival, USA. 7th Festival Rulfiano de las Arte, Mexico. 32nd Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival (SVAFMF), Canada. 10th Athens Ethnographic Film Festival, Greece. 17th DokuFest, Kosovo. 10th Simultan Festival, Romania. 16th Tacoma Film Festival, USA. 15th Animation Volda Festival, Norway. 10th Sound & Image Challenge International Festival, Macau. 21st Aporia International Village Film Festival, South Korea. 18th Espiello Festival Internacional de Documental Etnográfico de Sobrarbe. 17th & 22nd Bunter Hund - Munich, Germany. 12th One World Romania International Human Rights & Documentary, Romania. 18th International Festival of Outdoor Films, Poland. 12th Charlotte Film Festival, USA. 11th Oneota Film Festival, USA. 12th Asterfest International Film Festival, Macedonia. 14th International Moving Film Festival, Iran, 2021. 11th Lola Kenya Screen, Kenya. 21st Med Film Festival, Rome, Italy. 8th Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival, Serbia. 18th International Short Film Festival Film Front, Serbia. 4th Roma Cinema Doc, Italy. 9th Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, USA. 7th RIFFA - Regina International Film Festival & Awards, Canada. Academia Portuguesa de Cinema / Prémios Sophia 2021, Portugal. 20th Monstra Festival de Animação de Lisboa, Portugal. 20th, 24th, 25th & 26th Caminhos do Cinema Português. 13th & 15th FEST New Directors | New Films Festival, Portugal. 13th InShadow – Lisbon Screendance Festival, Portugal. 5th and 9th Festival Vista Curta, Portugal. 5th & 7th Curt'Arruda, Portugal. 10th Family Film Project Archive Memory Ethnography International Film Festival, Portugal.
& many others.

Goals

The objectives of this company are: the enhancement, the visibility and the rooting of Portuguese Cinema in Portuguese Society, the contribution by the means of Cinema to a greater visibility and awareness of the Portugal culture and language abroad, the achievement of international relevance through co-productions and accessibility of its films.

Outcome

Around 600 selections at international festivals and around 80 international awards.

Production mode

We carefully select projects to maximize our attention, at most one or two per year. We have supported the first works of young filmmakers.