Atlas is an artistic and pedagogical project that combines film education with the collective creation of a film about a specific territory, made by its inhabitants.
The idea of portraying a territory can be infinite, as its stories — and the perspectives through which it is seen — are inexhaustible. It is shaped by forces from diverse origins that converge within it. “Each of us is a kind of atlas (…) containing innumerable versions of a place as experience,” writes Rebecca Solnit. People do not experience the same territory in the same way. Despite the infinite possibilities, the aim is to trace, together with the participants, a path toward a film of possible narratives that brings together the physical and historical territory – shared by all its inhabitants – and the territory as a personal atlas: a version of a place shaped by memory and by history.
Over the course of one year (2024/2025), a space was created for listening, creating, and reflecting on images that could give form to the participants’ reality, the residents of Monte da Caparica. Through ongoing mentorship and guest trainers from specific areas of cinema (cinematography, sound, art direction, acting, assistant directing), a script was collectively developed from materials and exercises produced and brought into the sessions.
This script was divided into five filmmaking units, in which participants took on different roles within the crew. The result was the feature film “Ali, Aqui” (70’, 2025).
ATLAS Almada Project Team
concept and mentorship Ana Eliseu, Luís Miguel Correia, Susana Nobre
production coordination Raquel Rolim Batista
communication Sara Folhas
production Susana Nobre
guests André Silva Santos, Basil da Cunha, Falcão Nhaga, João Gazua, Leonardo Simões, Nádia Henriques, Paulo Menezes, Pedro Gil
