‘The Seasons' Is an 'Archaeological Film' Uncovering Tales and 'Shared History' (Exclusive Trailer)
The movie is the solo directorial feature debut from Maureen Fazendeiro (medium-length film Les Habitants, short Black Sun), a French filmmaker and casting director living in Lisbon who is known as a long-time collaborator of Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes, with whom she co-directed The Tsugua Diaries and co-wrote Grand Tour. The film will world premiere in the Swiss festival's main competition lineup on Aug. 11.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Blue Ant Media to Go Public After Completing Reverse Takeover
'The Office' Alum Anthony Q. Farrell Boards Cricket Comedy 'Strikers' as Showrunner (Exclusive)
Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Korea: Political and Dystopian Films in the Locarno Spotlight
The film is based on accounts and tales collected during its preparation and the personalarchives and fieldnotes of German archaeologists Georg and Vera Leisner, who studied megalithic sites in Iberia.
'Weaving together accounts of rural workers and field notes of a couple of archaeologists, amateur footage and scientific drawings, legends, poems, and songs, As Estações is a journey through the real history and the tales of a region in southern Portugal, Alentejo, and a portrait of the people who have lived there,' notes a synopsis on the festival website.
Fazendeiro herself, in a director's statement, describes the movie as 'an archaeological film,' explaining: 'It excavates the landscape, the voices, and gestures of the people of Alentejo to uncover the vestiges of a shared history, one of wars and revolutions, fear and resistance, permanence and metamorphosis.'
Written and directed by Fazendeiro, The Seasons features cinematography from Robin Fresson and Marta Simões. As cast members, Simão Ramalho, Cláudio da Silva, Ana Potra, Manuel Leitão, and António Sozinho are listed, along with voice cast members Gerti Drassl, Michaela Kaspar, Raphael von Bargen, Toni Slama, António Abel, and Simão Romeu.
International sales on the co-production between Portugal, France, Spain, and Austria, are being handled by Square Eyes.
THR can unveil a trailer for The Seasons, which features, among other things, archeologists, rocks, flowers, the moon, lots of goats, and such lines as 'I heard a story' and 'Once upon a time.'
Watch the full trailer below and decide for yourself if you want to hear a story.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
The 25 Best U.S. Film Schools in 2025
The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History
The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Forbes
Sustainable Music Festivals Redefine Summer Fun
Summer music festivals are beloved for their energy and community, but their environmental footprint is significant. As a result, they are under increasing scrutiny for their environmental impact. According to Seaside Sustainability's 2024 report, a typical three‑day festival generates about 500 tons of CO₂, or roughly 5 kg per attendee per day, with the majority of emissions coming from audience travel. Long car journeys and flights make up the largest share, while diesel generators used to power stages and facilities add significantly to the overall footprint. Furthermore, with climate change driving record‑breaking heat waves and increasingly erratic weather, the industry faces a critical question: Can live music become climate‑conscious without losing its magic? Sustainable music festivals suggest the answer is yes. Integrating renewable energy, circular design, zero‑waste systems, and community engagement are ways in which summer fun and climate responsibility can coexist. Sustainable Festivals That Set the Tone for Summer 2025 The festivals that have already taken place this summer have done their part to prove that music and sustainability can coexist. Feel Festival in Germany championed bike‑friendly travel, a waste‑deposit system, and mostly plant‑based, organic food. We Love Green in Paris ran on solar, hydrogen, and biofuel power with a strict zero‑waste and fully vegetarian approach. Switzerland's Greenfield Festival paired its rock and metal lineup with renewable energy, reusable systems, and aggressive recycling. Austria's Paradise Garden Festival powered its stages entirely with local wind and solar, promoted train travel, and served seasonal vegetarian cuisine. Together, these events show that cultural celebration can leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Upcoming Summer Sustainable Festivals Øyafestivalen has spent over 20 years building a reputation as one of the world's most sustainable music festivals. According to its organizers, the event operates entirely without fossil fuels, relies on permanent site infrastructure to reduce waste, and serves local, organic food to cut transport emissions and support regional producers. Since 2023, its sustainability strategy has expanded to include diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement, making social responsibility as central as environmental care. Deep Tropics is a green North American music festival. According to the festival's 2024 sustainability report, it diverted 87% of waste, preventing 7,387 pounds from reaching landfills, and planted 101,000 trees, offsetting more than 2,000 metric tons of CO₂. The festival operates with zero single‑use plastics, stainless steel 'Infinity Cups,' and is moving toward 100% renewable power. Its Sustainability Summit which begins on August 14th explores how music and environmental stewardship intersect, featuring discussions on regenerative urban design. It will also feature artist Merchant, who also brings climate‑focused themes to his music, panels, wellness sessions, and a sustainable fashion show highlighting circular, zero‑waste design. Summer 2025 has shown that music festivals can keep their magic while cutting their environmental toll. Sustainable events like Feel Festival, We Love Green, Greenfield, Paradise Garden, Øyafestivalen, and Deep Tropics prove that renewable energy, zero‑waste systems, and local, plant‑forward food can turn celebration into climate action. The future of live music belongs to festivals that leave more than memories, but also leave a lighter mark on the planet.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
‘The Seasons' Is an 'Archaeological Film' Uncovering Tales and 'Shared History' (Exclusive Trailer)
The Locarno Film Festival, at its 78th edition this year, is inviting audiences to explore The Seasons (As Estações). The movie is the solo directorial feature debut from Maureen Fazendeiro (medium-length film Les Habitants, short Black Sun), a French filmmaker and casting director living in Lisbon who is known as a long-time collaborator of Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes, with whom she co-directed The Tsugua Diaries and co-wrote Grand Tour. The film will world premiere in the Swiss festival's main competition lineup on Aug. 11. More from The Hollywood Reporter Blue Ant Media to Go Public After Completing Reverse Takeover 'The Office' Alum Anthony Q. Farrell Boards Cricket Comedy 'Strikers' as Showrunner (Exclusive) Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Korea: Political and Dystopian Films in the Locarno Spotlight The film is based on accounts and tales collected during its preparation and the personalarchives and fieldnotes of German archaeologists Georg and Vera Leisner, who studied megalithic sites in Iberia. 'Weaving together accounts of rural workers and field notes of a couple of archaeologists, amateur footage and scientific drawings, legends, poems, and songs, As Estações is a journey through the real history and the tales of a region in southern Portugal, Alentejo, and a portrait of the people who have lived there,' notes a synopsis on the festival website. Fazendeiro herself, in a director's statement, describes the movie as 'an archaeological film,' explaining: 'It excavates the landscape, the voices, and gestures of the people of Alentejo to uncover the vestiges of a shared history, one of wars and revolutions, fear and resistance, permanence and metamorphosis.' Written and directed by Fazendeiro, The Seasons features cinematography from Robin Fresson and Marta Simões. As cast members, Simão Ramalho, Cláudio da Silva, Ana Potra, Manuel Leitão, and António Sozinho are listed, along with voice cast members Gerti Drassl, Michaela Kaspar, Raphael von Bargen, Toni Slama, António Abel, and Simão Romeu. International sales on the co-production between Portugal, France, Spain, and Austria, are being handled by Square Eyes. THR can unveil a trailer for The Seasons, which features, among other things, archeologists, rocks, flowers, the moon, lots of goats, and such lines as 'I heard a story' and 'Once upon a time.' Watch the full trailer below and decide for yourself if you want to hear a story. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 25 Best U.S. Film Schools in 2025 The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Cambodian Auteur Rithy Panh Chats About His Super 8 Plans and Whether Cinema Can Save Us
Cinema can 'preserve history, influence mindsets and provide a space for reflection and escape,' Cambodian auteur Rithy Panh (Graves Without a Name, Exile, Meeting With Pol Pot, Everything Will Be OK) said when he was unveiled as the surprise jury president of this year's 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival. The longtime documentary chronicler is best known for his work about the 1970s Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, which saw his parents, siblings and extended family perish of starvation and forced labor. Panh escaped to Thailand and then to France, where he discovered filmmaking. More from The Hollywood Reporter Willem Dafoe to Receive Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at Sarajevo Film Festival Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice,' Starring Lee Byung-hun, to Open Busan Film Festival 'The Seasons' Is an "Archaeological Film" Uncovering Tales and "Shared History" (Exclusive Trailer) In 2013, his The Missing Picture saw Panh debuting the aesthetic mixing clay figurines, archival footage and first-person narration that became his trademark. The movie ended up winning the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival and earning an Oscar nomination in the best international feature film category. Panh is 'one of contemporary cinema's most courageous and consistent defenders of artistic freedom and an indefatigable champion of the power of historical truth,' Locarno said when revealing his appointment as jury head. 'Since 1994, his feature films have been acclaimed around the world, giving voice to those whose lives were destroyed through horrifying state violence.' Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno festival, lauded Panh as 'an authoritative witness of our time,' adding: 'His passionate search for truth, his anti-dogmatic approach, and his genuine commitment, as well as his capacity to move freely between the numerous forms of present-day filmmaking were the crucial elements that prompted us, spontaneously and enthusiastically, to offer him the task of President of the Jury of the Concorso Internazionale at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. Before taking on his jury duty at the Locarno festival, which kicks off Wednesday, Aug. 6, and runs though Aug. 16, Panh talked to THR about his past and current work, the impact of social media and AI, the importance of the theatrical experience and why he wants to pick up a Super 8 camera are you working on right now? Any new film in the works, maybe? I start reading now and searching for information, maybe looking back at the list of ideas to see what idea is now possible to work on. I am also working with some young artists on a photography exhibition in November. And I'm reading the latest version of the book I wrote with Christophe Bataille [The Elimination: A Survivor of the Khmer Rouge Confronts His Past and the Commandant of the Killing Fields], which takes time. Do you expect your next film will be similar to your latest, , and a continuation of your past work or quite different, like , in which animals enslave humans in a takedown of totalitarianism, surveillance and excessive capitalism? I don't know. That one was different, talking about capitalism, the environment, etc. I have always mixed things up between work on the Khmer Rouge and also other work. But it was a choice that I put more time on the Khmer Rouge work. But now it's maybe the last 10 years or 15 years of my life. I don't want to be that director who still shoots at 100 years. That's really crazy. Maybe I wish to enjoy cinema more now. I'm teaching, too. You learn a lot when you are in contact with young film directors. I try to discover them and have an exchange with them. Now, how people produce, how the new generation does things is different and how they observe the world. And at the same time, I like teaching my students with classic films, because they discover things. The idea is that we can be free with cinema, and we can bring people with us. You mentioned freedom. You have long seemed free from genre restrictions, mixing documentary and fictional elements and the like. Can you talk a bit about that? It's amazing. When I made The Missing Picture, the film got nominated for the foreign-language film Oscar, not for documentary. But still, people used to call me the guy who makes documentaries. But it's not really true, because I am not thinking too much about whether something is fiction, documentary or more. It's just my vision of the images and how to tell a story with images. Now, people make films [or series] for social networks that are three minutes [long], exactly the time between two stations on the subway. I'm very interested by this kind of new narration, but it's so stupid. It's three minutes and always the same story. It's cinema influencers and not cinema. For me, it's good to to go to festivals sometimes to have a meeting with cinema and wait for something that can make me cry or make me laugh or make me sad, whatever — but something that moves me. How do you approach the role of jury president in Locarno? I'm a little bit afraid of festivals. Why? Because you have to judge things. I don't want to say this one is better than that one. I'd create a prize for everyone. I'm a filmmaker, so I respect you a lot when you shoot a short [or feature]. It's so hard to make a film. I don't know if I didn't sleep well at night, maybe I cannot follow one film. We have a few people on the jury, and maybe someone will have to explain the story of a film to me. And if one film comes from another continent, how can I fully understand all of it? The strongest films are universal. You can understand because you fear something. There is this humanity, dignity, freedom. Your work has often explored trauma, especially historical trauma. How do you see cinema helping people confront and work through trauma?Probably, the cinema work will be harder now because there are fakes with AI, so artists will need to be very cautious about where and how we research. With trauma, of course, culture in general can do something, because it can gather people around to talk about a painful event or something like this. Cinema also brings you a moment to breathe, happiness, you can dream, you can love. We are so under pressure everywhere, with daily life, work, all that's happening, amplified by social media. And we need something to breathe. We need space. We need to watch and hear. We need physical sensation. A close-up must be a close-up on the big screen. It's not the same on your TV screen. But can cinema repair the world or can it save the world? No, we cannot save the world. We need to save ourselves. You are a role model for various filmmakers. Do you have any cinema role models, or anybody who you feel influenced your work a lot? Many, many, many. I knew the cinema when I was very young, because my neighbor was a filmmaker. But I was a child, so I was not prepared to make films. When I went to cinema school here in France, I knew nothing about cinema history. But they gave us an ID card so that we could go watch films for free. So I spent a lot of time in theaters to discover film, and they also had a videotape library. I watched Andrei Tarkovsky and started watching a lot of Russian cinema. I also love the great work of [Kenji] Mizoguchi, [Akira] Kurosawa and, of course, [Ingmar] Bergman and [Aki] Kaurismäki and [Krzysztof] Kieś maybe the best one for me is [the late low-budget French filmmaker] Chris Marker. Maybe not in terms of filmmaking, but when I have difficulty with shooting or editing, I think: 'Hi, Chris, can you help me?' And I hear him: 'Don't worry. Go test! Don't worry. Be free. Don't respect the script. Change the pace of the sequence.' I never met him, but he is very strong for me, like a saint of cinema. Saint Marker. Is there anything else you would like to mention? Images and sound are very complex. When cameras can come into every hand, it's good in one way because everybody can record pictures. But also, images can become more and more banal. I have a project. I want to go back to Super 8. As a very young filmmaker, I made a Super 8 movie. And I want to go back to Super 8. But it's very expensive — 100 euros ($118) for [a film roll of] three minutes. It's interesting because you cannot shoot like when you use your phone. You need to think a little bit. I have bought a camera now. So I will try one or two cartridges to see what happens. I would like to find again my first love or maybe the same sensation. I would like to find something more innocent, more elegant, more poetic. And I realized I shot too much with the digital camera, so I want to go back to something more basic. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 25 Best U.S. Film Schools in 2025 The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Solve the daily Crossword
