A still from the film ‘The Memory of the Smell of Things’ by António Ferreira.
The XIV Lusophone Film Festival returns from February 6 to 15, bringing 20 acclaimed Portuguese-language films to Goa, Maharashtra and Hyderabad, celebrating shared histories, cultures and contemporary storytelling across the Lusophone world
The Consulate General of Portugal in Goa and Camões, Centro de Língua Portuguesa in Panaji will be hosting the XIV Lusophone Film Festival 2026 from February 6-15 in Goa, Maharashtra and Hyderabad.
This event, an initiative of the community of Portuguese language countries (CPLP), was held for the first time in 2008 as part of the official programme of the first edition of the Indo-Portuguese Culture Week (Goa), with screenings in Panaji, and Parvatibai Chowgule College in Margao.
This year’s event includes 20 feature and short films of various genres, comedies, dramas, documentaries and animated films, fiction, but also based on real stories that portray some of the most striking cultural and civilisational aspects of the countries of the Portuguese-speaking domain. India’s accession to the CPLP in 2021, as an Associate Observer, deepened its mutual friendship and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries.
The inaugural ceremony will take place on February 6, at 6 pm, in Auditorium I of the Maquinez Palace, of the Entertainment Society of Goa, Campal, Panaji, followed by the screening of the film ‘The Memory of the Smell of Things’ by António Ferreira, in a Luso-Brazilian co-production. The main character is Arménio, an octogenarian ex-combatant of the Portuguese colonial war, interned in a nursing home. In this new world of routines, fragilities and silences, he meets Hermínia, an African nurse who starts to take care of him. The unlikely friendship that ensues forces him to confront the ghosts of his past and seek redemption. The film was nominated at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival, where José Martins, the actor who plays the Armenian character, won the Best Actor Award, and at the 14th Tangier Film Festival, received an Honourable Mention for Best Screenplay, and was also featured in other film festivals.
Most of the films were released in 2025 to great acclaim from audiences and critics. ‘Banzo’, a Portuguese, French and Dutch co-production, directed by Margarida Cardoso, a film centred on the desperate attempt of Afonso (Carloto Cotta) to restart life on a tropical African island in 1907 as a plantation doctor, where he has to cure a group of servants ‘infected’ by Banzo, the nostalgia of the enslaved. This film was officially nominated by Portugal for the Oscar award in the category of Best Foreign Film. ‘A Wolf Among the Swans’, one of the best Brazilian films premiered in 2025 will be screened at the closing of the XIV Lusophone Film Festival at Maquinez Palace. Directed by Marcos Schechtman and Helena Varvaki, the film tells the story of Thiago Soares, a boy from the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro who leaves hip hop behind and embarks on the world of classical ballet. His story takes unexpected turns through a troubled relationship with his mentor, the Cuban Dino Carrera, who hones Thiago’s talent until he reaches stardom by becoming the principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of London. This feature film was part of the pre-list of Brazilian films that are candidates for this year’s Oscars.
On February 7, the first two sessions, from 2 pm to 6 pm, will be dedicated to the youth, with the animated films ‘Fita Cor-de-Rosa’ (2022), a short film by Cape Verdean Mon de Anjo, and the fascinating documentary ‘Lindo’ (2023) by Margarida Gramaxo that recounts the radical change of Lindo, a sea turtle hunter on Príncipe Island, who after an encounter with an unexpectedly docile turtle, decides to change his life to start protecting the animal against other predators. ‘A Bola’ (2025) by Brazilian director Filipe Rafaeli and the Brazilian comedy ‘Pacarrete’ (2020), directed by Allan Deberton, centred on a dancer who lives in the interior of Ceará and who tries to present a ballet show in the city to prove that there is no age to make her dream come true, complete these projections aimed at a special audience.
All films are in Portuguese and have English subtitles.
Like last year, from February 9 to 15, the festival extends to other locations. Screenings will take place at the University of Goa, Taleigao, Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao, Maharashtra, Shivaji University, Kolhapur and the University of Hyderabad.
