Alexia Fernandes (she/they/he) is a Luso-French screenwriter and film director. Graduating in 2011, they specialized in Film Direction at the School of Technologies, Innovation, and Creation in Lisbon.
Their short films have garnered nominations at prestigious events such as Fantasporto, the Lisbon & Sintra Film Festival, and at the Faro International Film Festival. Additionally, their screenplays earned recognition from Maison des Scénaristes, leading them to participate in the annual meeting between authors and producers during the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2019.
Over the span of approximately three decades, Alexia Fernandes has resided in three distinct countries and cultures. They have experienced life in France, their birthplace and where the father emigrated in 1970; Portugal, where the parents returned in 2000; and Germany, where they have made their home since 2014. Beginning in 2023, they have chosen to divide their time between Berlin and Leiria.
SYNOPSIS
Amid societal pressures to conform, a protagonist grapples with fitting into predetermined roles. Yet, through a journey of self-discovery, they confront the constraints of conformity, navigating the intricate dynamics of identity and societal norms.
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Created as a poem about the inherent relation between identity and normativity, Olhares is a visual journey that leads us into the realm of our emotions. A dreamlike moment where realizing how unique and interwoven each of our feelings is becomes essential to who we are as a whole.
Drawing inspiration from the book Le Partage Social des Émotions (Rimé, 2005), Olhares illustrates a scene from a social chain, where the emotional experience itself alters as the account progresses from one person to another. With the aim of delving into the effects that sharing complex emotional situations can have on a societal climate, I intended to embody how it feels when the individual self is humbled and the identity of a group is enhanced.
Nearly all captured in two sequence shots, the emphasis is on the scattering that occurs in the movement rather than a contrast from a binary perspective. By bridging polarized viewpoints, Olhares presents a time when our personal lives become political imperatives, compelling us to reevaluate what makes up our inner worlds.