Private Project

MALCATA - The Tale of a Lonely Mountain Range

Documentary about Malcata mountain range, in all of its dimensions and surroundings.
A journey that seeks to unravel the history of the region from the last 600 million years to the present day.
Malcata, located between Portugal and Spain, it’s a land of transition; a space of encounters and influence but permanently ruled by its isolation.

Since the pre-Roman era to the present day, settlers have dug these lands in search of its mineral riches and manipulated their watercourses, repelled invasions and used the border to move goods and men.

This journey will take us to the comeback of illustrious Black vulture, grebes that gather in reservoirs to sharpen their dancing acts, mills that gave rise to the development of rural communities, evidence of prehistoric animal activity remaining on the rocks, the daily struggle against the scarcity of resources and the Iberian lynx, the most endangered feline in the world, and which still lives in peoples’ memories.

  • Miguel Cortes Costa; Ricardo Guerreiro
    Director
  • Carolina Castro Almeida
    Producer
  • Miguel Cortes Costa
    Writer
  • Miguel Mateus Pinheiro
    Original Soundtrack
  • Mariana Vilas Boas
    Project Co-ordinator
  • Miguel Cortes Costa; Ricardo Guerreiro
    Photography
  • João Santana
    Narrated by
  • Dinis M. Costa
    Script Review
  • Daniel Rocha
    Translation
  • Miguel Cortes Costa
    Editor
  • Carolina Castro Almeida
    Graphics
  • Francisco Costa
    Colourist
  • Billyboom Sound Design
    Audio Post-Production
  • António Cabanas; Brais Refojos; Sánchez-Palencia; Joaquim Nabais; Vítor Clamote; Vítor Gil
    Scientific advice and field support
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    MALCATA - Conto de uma Serra Solitária
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    40 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    Portugal
  • Country of Filming:
    Portugal
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • CineEco International Environmental Film Festival
    Seia
    Portugal
    October 10, 2020
    Portugal Premiere
    Winner Television Youth Award
  • Naturcôa - Imagem, Natureza e Património
    Sabugal
    Portugal
    Screening
  • Viva Film Festival
    Sarajevo
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    September 16, 2020
    Official Selection
  • The Lift-Off Sessions

    United Kingdom
    October 18, 2020
    Official Selection
  • EcoBrasil Fest
    São Paulo
    Brazil
    April 22, 2021
    South American Premiere
    Official Seleccion
  • GECO Biennale 21
    Melbourne
    Australia
    Official Selection
  • Golden Tree International Documentary Festival
    Paris
    France
    Official Selection
  • International Nature FIlm Festival Gödöllö
    Budapest
    Hungary
    Official Selection
  • Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa
    Lisbon
    Portugal
    Screening
Distribution Information
  • Instituto Camões - Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I.P.
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Video / Disc
  • SIC - Sociedade Independente de Comunicação
    Distributor
    Country: Portugal
    Rights: Free TV
Director Biography - Miguel Cortes Costa; Ricardo Guerreiro

Miguel Cortes Costa [1993] took a biology degree in Lisbon. Soon after started working as a cameraman - he filmed documentaries of antropology, culture, science and natural history in Europe, Africa and South America for international broadcast, such as “Understory” Margarida Cardoso; “Sou Autor do Meu Nome” Solveig Nordlung; “São Precisos Dois para Casar” Rui Simões, and "N’Omang Plantas Sagradas” Noémi Mendelle/Luís Correia. Joining his knowledge in ecology, he did research and advisement for Gernot Lercher last documentary “Portugal - Wild Land on the Edge” and Madalena Boto’s “Das Pedras Fez-se Terra”.

Ricardo Guerreiro [1977] is an award winning filmmaker and photographer specializing in natural history and rural heritage, his two passions. His pictures have been published in books and magazines of the kind, such as National Geographic Portugal. He’s the author of the book "Almada Nature Uncovered", a photographic journey about urban wildlife, and co-director of the natural history films internationally broadcast, "Arrábida - from the Mountain to the Sea”, “Almada - Between the River and the Sea” and “Portugal’s Mountains of Wonder”.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In the tale of Malcata mountain range, one of the most forgotten areas in Portugal, man plays a role like any other geological, floristic or animal feature.
Short scenes and a constant movement through empty spaces with echoes from many years before give us the idea of how everything is so connected (even past and present), and how fragile are the ecosystems and man himself.