Private Project

MARIA

Maria spends her daytime sewing and cleaning while at night she works as a prostitute in the streets of downtown Porto. José, her lover and most faithful client, is still around but he can no longer give this 60 year old woman what she has always desired the most. In a raw and intimate portrayal, MARIA reveals how love and growing old can hit like.

  • Catarina Neves Ricci
    Director
    OF AMSTERDAM
  • Catarina Neves Ricci
    Writer
    OF AMSTERDAM, WOMEN ON WOMEN
  • Pandora da Cunha Telles
    Producer
    several at Ukbar Filmes
  • Pablo Iraola
    Producer
    several at Ukbar Filmes
  • Valerie Braddell
    Key Cast
  • António Fonseca
    Key Cast
  • Márcia Breia
    Key Cast
  • Mónica Calle
    Key Cast
  • Sine Vadstrup Brooker
    Direction of Photography
    RAINBOW GIRLS, LANDET AF GLAS, SKYGGEBOKSER
  • Tatu Rönkkö
    Original Soundtrack
    UMRIKA
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 3, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    Portugal
  • Country of Filming:
    Portugal
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Copenhagen Film Festival
    Copenhagen
    Denmark
    March 3, 2018
    WORLD PREMIERE
    AWARDED: Best Drama Film; Nominated for Best Drama Film and Best Director
  • Brazil International Film Festival
    Rio de Janeiro
    Brazil
    May 26, 2018
    South American premiere
    AWARDED Best Short Film
  • Alaska International Film Awards
    Alaska
    United States
    July 18, 2018
    AWARDED: Northern Lights Emerging Talent Award
  • Los Angeles Underground Film Forum
    Los Angeles
    United States
    AWARDED: Artistic Honorable Contribution Award
  • Ouchy Film Awards
    Lausanne
    Switzerland
    December 15, 2018
    Official Selection; nominated for Best Film
  • Festival Signes de Nuit - Paris
    Paris
    France
    October 5, 2018
    French Premiere
    Official Sellection
  • Caminhos do Cinema Português
    Coimbra
    Portugal
    November 27, 2018
    Portuguese premiere
    Official selection / Best film Portuguese competion/ AWARDED: Best Actress
  • RapidLion South African International Film Festival
    Johannesburg
    South Africa
    March 5, 2019
    Nominated for Best Short
  • Porto Femme International Film Festival
    Porto
    Portugal
    June 21, 2019
    AWARDED: Best Short Film
  • European Short Film Festivals Network
    Vienna
    Austria
    March 20, 2020
    Nominated for Best European Short
Distribution Information
  • Ukbar Filmes (Portugal)
    Country: Portugal
    Rights: All Rights
  • Origine Films (France; rest of the world)
    Country: France
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Catarina Neves Ricci

Catarina Neves Ricci (b. 1984, Lisbon) is a filmmaker and dance -
theatre director based in Lisbon - Berlin.
She studied Production and Film Direction in Buenos Aires and has since then lived and worked in Brazil, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Milano, Berlin and Ljubljana. Her works frequently contemplate affecting storytelling and striking visuals, where the erotic, the feminine and no-taboo inhabit.
Catarina’s universe is sharp, with an accurate use of sound,
symbolism and color, treating her subjects with a developed intimacy. Able to create through different mediums and site-sensitive, she’s been working for cinema, commercials, music, and performance around Europe.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"I wrote MARIA in 2014, inspired by a short story I read about the older prostitutes of downtown Porto. Among the stories I developed in the last couple of years, MARIA has always been particularly dear and undoubtedly a film that both me and my producers have been yearning to film since then, perhaps due to its human dynamics: electrifying, honest, so real... (…) MARIA is a very intimate and intense piece about women, about life, love and dreams, essentially made by women. (…) During my research period in Porto, I met several 'Marias', street prostitutes of all ages, women I respect and care very much about. This film is then dedicated to them all."
Catarina Neves Ricci