Do mosteiro pró-fílmico ao convento cinematográfico : Mulheres da Beira (1923) de Rino Lupo

Abstract

Filmed in 1921 as part of the collaboration of Rino Lupo at Invicta Film, Mulheres da Beira resulted from the adaptation of the short story A Frecha da Mizarela by Abel Botelho. Thanks to the director's improvisation, the film distinguishes itself from the rest of the company's production due to the presence of outdoor filming. It is the presence of exteriors, filmed locally in Arouca and in its surroundings, which gives the film a great importance as a document. This study will focus on the Monastery of Arouca, singly mentioned in the original story and transformed into scenery and space for the film's action. The appropriation of the real, pro-filmic, spaces and their recreations in the studio gives us another level of documentary reading. Besides being an important defining element of Arouca, the cinematographic convent also serves as one of the principal elements of the filmic narrative.