Private Project

Leone's Almería

Synopsis ENG:
From 1964 to 1975, Sergio Leone imagined a spaghetti-flavored West, more violent and ruthless than the real West. In the “Dollars” trilogy, where death had a price, we were introduced to Clint Eastwood, who personified the archetype of the anti-hero, cunning and quick on the trigger.
His films are major references in Cinema, whose stories, immortalized on celluloid, will live forever in our collective memory.
60 years later, the VHS Podcast in collaboration with The World is a Set, traveled to Almería, in the south of Spain, looking for a mirage in the Tabernas desert and there to tell a story... that of Leone.

To activate subtitles in English, simply press play and click on CC in the bottom right corner of the screen and choose the subtitles in (*).

Sinopsis ES:
De 1964 a 1975, Sergio Leone imaginó un Oeste con sabor a espagueti, más violento e implacable que el verdadero Oeste. En la trilogía de los "Dólares", donde la muerte tenía un precio, nos presentó a Clint Eastwood, quien personificó el arquetipo del antihéroe, astuto y rápido con el gatillo.
Sus películas son grandes referencias del cine, cuyas historias, inmortalizadas en celuloide, vivirán para siempre en nuestra memoria colectiva.
60 años después, el podcast VHS, en colaboración con The World is a Set, viajaron a Almería, en el sur de España, en busca de un espejismo en el desierto de Tabernas y allí contaron una historia... la de Leone.

Para activar los subtítulos en español, simplemente presiona reproducir y haga clic en CC en la esquina inferior derecha de la pantalla y elija los subtítulos en (*).

Sinopse PT:
De 1964 a 1975, Sergio Leone imaginou um Oeste com sabor a esparguete, mais violento e implacável que o verdadeiro Oeste. Em a trilogia dos “Dólares”, onde a morte tinha um preço, deu-nos a conhecer Clint Eastwood, que personificou o arquétipo do anti-herói, astuto e rápido no gatilho.
Os seus filmes são referências maiores do Cinema, cujo as histórias, imortalizadas em celulóide, viverão para sempre na nossa memória coletiva.
60 anos depois, o VHS em colaboração com The World is a Set, viajaram até Almería, no Sul de Espanha, à procura de uma miragem no deserto de Tabernas e lá contar uma história... a de Leone.

  • Paulo Fajardo
    Director
  • Paulo Fajardo
    Writer
  • Paulo Fajardo
    Producer
  • Daniel Louro
    Producer
  • Rosa Santos Gonçalves
    Producer
  • Sergio Leone
    Key Cast
    "Himself (archive interview)"
  • Clint Eastwood
    Key Cast
    "Himself (archive interview)"
  • Ennio Morricone
    Key Cast
    "Himself (archive interview)"
  • Paulo Fajardo
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    A Almería de Leone
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    52 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 3, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Portugal
  • Country of Filming:
    Spain
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Cine S. João - Clube de Cinema
    São João da Madeira
    Portugal
    October 3, 2024
    Portugal Premiere
  • Biblioteca Municipal da Mealhada - Dia Mundial do Cinema
    Mealhada
    Portugal
    November 5, 2024
    Guest Film
  • IV Clássica - Cineclub Bairrada
    Cantanhede
    Portugal
    December 4, 2024
    Guest Film
  • Cine Clube de Arouca
    Arouca
    Portugal
    February 22, 2025
    Invited Film
  • Taxi Film Fest
    Berlin
    Germany
    February 20, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Stockholm City Film Festival
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    February 23, 2025
    Semi-Finalist
  • Ciclo Ante-Estreias na Cinemateca Portuguesa
    Lisbon
    Portugal
    March 12, 2025
    Special Screening
  • Europa Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    March 31, 2025
    (Online Festival)
    Winner Best Feature Documentary
  • ITFFA - International Tourism Film Festival Africa
    Johannesburg
    South Africa
    June 3, 2025
    Award Winner Golden Trophy
  • Finsisterra Brazil Film Art & Tourism Festival
    Porto Seguro, Bahia
    Brazil
    June 22, 2025
    Special Prize of the Jury
  • Tucumcari Film Festival
    Tucumcari, New Mexico
    United States
    April 25, 2025
    Winner Best Documentary Feature
  • People's Planet
    Johannesburg
    South Africa
    July 25, 2025
    TV channel on Openview satellite network
    Official Selection
  • Ariano International Film Festival
    Ariano Irpino
    Italy
    July 28, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Forum Film Festival
    Chaco
    Argentina
    July 31, 2025
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Arouca Film Festival
    Arouca
    Portugal
    September 16, 2025
    Best Editing Award for a Feature Film
  • AWFF - Almeria Western Film Festival
    Tabernas
    Spain
    October 10, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Indie Doc Pro Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    October 31, 2025
    Winner Best Feature Documentary and Best Director
  • CineClube Gândara Bairrada: exibição no Atrium Raul Almeida
    Mira
    Portugal
    November 27, 2025
    Special Screening
  • Ciclo de Cinema UNICEPE
    Porto
    Portugal
    December 2, 2025
    Guest Film
  • ImoIFF -Creatives International Film Festival
    Imo
    Nigeria
    March 5, 2026
    Honorable Mention
  • Fatela Sessions #9 - Um Giorno di Cowboy e Spaghetti (Cineclube Gardunha)
    Fundão
    Portugal
    April 18, 2026
    Guest Film
Distribution Information
  • VHS - Vilões, Heróis e Sarrabulho
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Paulo Fajardo

Paulo César Fajardo was born in 1980, in the city of Figueira da Foz, Portugal.
He began his activity as an independent producer in 1999, having developed several documentary and fiction projects, and in 2006, he completed his degree in Tourism from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (Portugal).
"Outono/Fall" (2000), his first short film, earned him the International Critics' Prize at the Figueira da Foz International Film Festival. In the following years he collaborated as a freelancer in the areas of camera operator, editor and director in entertainment programs for various national and international television channels; SIC, RTP, TVI, Canal 6 - Pluricanal, SportTV, VIVA, GMTV, TV5 and CamõesTV.
Among his most noticeable films, which earned him national and international recognition at film festivals, are the documentaries "Berlenga - A Ilha do Farol" (2011), "A Rebentação/Breaking Waves" (2018), "A Primeira Linha de Wellington/Wellington's First Line" ( 2021), "Africa, como eu a vi" (2024) and the film “Terra Queimada/Scorched Earth” (2022). In 2012, as a co-host, he started the podcast "VHS", the longest-running cinema podcast in Portugal, awarded with the Podes prize in 2025, and from 2012 to 2016, he created and directed the web tv "BairradaTV".
In 2017 he was co-founder of the "Marmostra" film festival, in 2019 he was a founding member of "Cineclub Bairrada", in 2023 he was invited to co-program "Encontros de Cinema na Mealhada/Cinema Meetings in Mealhada" and in 2025 he co-founded the "CineClube Gândara Bairrada". From 2004 to the present, he has been working as a tv news cameraman and editor for the television channels SIC and SIC Notícias, where he highlights the production of several special reports and the weekend section "Castelos de Portugal/Castles of Portugal" for the news program "Jornal da Noite".

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Leone's Almería" is an unintentional documentary that I made with the help of family and friends during a travel across Andalusia. It's about Sergio Leone, the films he made in the south of Spain and the seminal influence that his work had on Cinema, after the premiere of a small low-budget film in 1964, called "A Fistful of Dollars". 60 years later, this testimony is a heartfelt tribute to Leone and my love letter to the spaghetti-flavored Old West, which had such an impact on my childhood.
When I traveled to Almería, I didn't know that I would be making a film about the spaghetti western mystique that still lingers in the air and on the slopes of the Tabernas desert. Nothing had been planned, I just wanted to be and feel spiritually united with the places that I recognized and that I thought only existed in my memory. But while I was there, I knew I had a story to tell. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I loved making it.

(The film has subtitled versions in English, Spanish and Portuguese, in a Srt file or burned into the video file. I will be happy to send you either version.)