“Night of The Carpets - Amidst Divine and Profane”

The documentary film “Night of The Carpets” is subtitled “Amidst Divine and Profane”, signaling the several points of view from which this tradition can be seen: the devotion and the feast, the preparation and the revelry, of the ones who participate – the inhabitants of the Ribeira – and of the ones who watch. Enhancing this multiple look, the soundtrack changes accordingly, with the narration of the preparations told first hand by the participants, with the “singing” so befit of the Ribeira, but also accompanied, in the moments of greater euphoria, by the sound of the concertina bellows of Danças Ocultas, breathing heavily, as if themselves entered the dances.Throughout the documentary we can see the faces up close and observe their joy and anxieties, enter their homes, see the materials used and the techniques developed to create the carpet patterns and this way understand all the care put into the decorations. The sea imaginary, transformed and brought to life in these salt drawings.Everything done as if it would stay there forever, but with the certainty that, in the next day, everything will be stepped over by a crowd of devotees.