Vienna-based gross sales firm Sq. Eyes picked up rights for Maureen Fazendeiro’s solo directorial function debut “The Seasons” forward of its world premiere on the Locarno Movie Pageant, the place it’ll compete for the coveted Golden Leopard.

The documentary is a journey through the actual historical past and the tales of the Portuguese area of Alentejo and its individuals informed by the story of a few German archaelogists in addition to accounts of rural staff, fieldnotes, scientific drawings, newbie footage and artwork. 

In her director’s assertion, Fazendeiro, who co-directed “The Tsugua Diaries” with Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes, says the movie “excavates the panorama, the voices and gestures of the individuals of Alentejo to uncover the vestiges of a shared historical past, one among wars and revolutions, worry and resistance, permanence and metamorphosis.”

Talking with Selection, Fazendeiro says it’s been 10 years this August since she learn an article in a newspaper in regards to the life and work of archaelogists Georg and Vera Leisner, who spent a long time learning fourth and third millennia BC megalithic websites in Iberia, settling in Portugal throughout WWII. “[They] made the primary stock of megalithic monuments of the iberian peninsula, a piece nonetheless essential in the present day to know the daybreak of the European civilization,” stated the filmmaker. 

“I went Of their footstep to go to these monuments and have a look at the panorama of the Alentejo area, a now abandoned lthat was the middle of the peninsula 1000’s of years in the past,” she continues. “There I met shepherds, archaeologists, poets, rural staff, timber and stones. They shared with me their tales, beliefs, archives, poems and songs. I collected and documented their poetical and political imaginary and, like an archaeologist, tried to to reassemble the historic time from these fragments.”

Sq. Eyes’ Wouter Jansen stated: “We’ve been following ‘The Seasons’ for the previous years after seeing it pitched at FIDlab and are very enthusiastic to be on board with this nice crew. The movie is an thrilling and imaginative exploration of the Alentejo area, transporting us by time utilizing folklore, science and different sources. [‘The Seasons’ is the] sort of movie we love at Sq. Eyes.

Fazendeiro is a French filmmaker residing in Lisbon. On prime of co-directing “The Tsugua Diaries” with Gomes, Fazendeiro additionally co-wrote the auteur’s newest, “Grand Tour” and works with Gomes as a casting director. Her movies have been screened at Cannes’ Administrators’ Fortnight, New York, Toronto, Marseille and different prestigious festivals. The 78th Locarno Movie Pageant can be held from Aug. 6 to Aug. 16, 2025.