Empowerment

We have decided that, every year, we shall dedicate a theme to the Festival. This theme will give us the guidelines for the parallel activities and will provide FITEI with a common language that will allow a more horizontal dialogue between the artists and the public. FITEI 2018 is not an exception and theme wise, it will be dedicated to debating and reflecting on empowerment. This theme does not intend to limit the artists’ license, but rather help them anchor the speech about their works, with all the necessary openness for them to be properly perceived.
When we say “empowerment”, we are talking about the need to give power to those who normally don’t have it: women, ethnical minorities, the poor, the people from southern European countries, the people from the southern hemisphere, the aboriginal people and many others that force us to reflect and revaluate the idea of centre and periphery, as well as the very concept of hierarchal verticality.
In a program that intended not to be condescending or usurp someone else’s speech, we tried to play with the issues of otherness and tried to maintain a stylistic and generational diversity, something that has become one of the festival’s trademarks.
“Caranguejo Overdrive” by Aquela Companhia, from Brasil; “Mendoza” by Los Colochos, from México; “An House In Asia”, by the Catalonians Señor Serrano Ensemble, “Correo” by the Chilean Paula Aros Gho, “Altíssimo” by Pedro Vilela, from Pernambuco, Brazil, the artistic residence “Yo Escribo. Vos Dibujás”, in the return of Federico León, from Argentina, are the strong international attractions for this year’s event.
The new work of Victor Hugo Pontes, “Margem”, with a script based on Jorge Amado’s “Capitães da Areia”, adapted by Joana Craveiro and a cast of teenagers. The new work from Marco Martins, “Provisional Figures: Great Yarmouth”, that reflects on the Portuguese immigration phenomenon of the last decade to this small English town. Four authors/directors premiere their latest works at the festival: Sara Leitão, Ana Luena, Raquel S. and Diana de Sousa. André Amálio reflects on colonialism, in his trilogy, Nuno M. Cardoso on animalism, in the premiere of “Lulu”, and Miguel Bonneville on the transsexual issue and feminism, revisiting his work from 2008, “MB6” and premiering a new version for 2018, in the light of the critical evolution of such themes. We will still be able to see, in Porto, two of the Companies of Decentralization, namely Teatro Didascália and Teatro do Noroeste, as well as the latest and much expected works of Paulo Ribeiro and Tónan Quito. The festival also has various parallel activities and a formative session called “This Is Not a FITEI School”. The activities will take place in Porto, Matosinhos, Viana do Castelo and Felgueiras. And this year, we rejoice with the addition of Gaia to this celebration of the theatrical arts, a partnership we know will continue to develop and grow stronger.

We also want to continue to see FITEI as a place of resistance, one that supports diversity, a multigenerational dialogue and a place for empowering the very fabric of the Portuguese and Iberian‑American arts. There is still a lot to do, but we feel we’re on the right path.

Gonçalo Amorim
Artistic Director, FITEI