Best Portuguese documentary movies

Salgueiro Maia - The Implicated (2022)

On April 25, 1974, a man walked alone in Largo do Carmo. He knocked on the GNR military barracks door and entered, unarmed and without any escorts. Inside, the Government’s chief, Marcelo Caetano, waited, surrounded by the military and the people. The man who stared at him that afternoon and demanded surrender, guaranteeing his safety, had just led Santarém’s Artillery 1 regiment in taking the capital. Without firing a single shot, he managed to overthrow a regime that was over 48 years old. That was the last step to take and he took it, without hesitation, becoming the unavoidable figure of the day that marked the beginning of democracy in Portugal

Independence (2015)

A documentary reflecting on the memories and facts of the war of liberation in Angola.

The Sacrifice of the Druids (2020)

Fados (2007)

A series of musical performances showcasing the diverse facets of fado, a musical genre from Lisbon.

Elis Regina: Doce de Pimenta (2007)

She mesmerised the crowd. The first sight would rapidly disappear and anyone who would get closer would also be surprised. It is not known if she did it for "beauty or precision", as Guimarães Rosa used to say. But the truth is that stereotypes would be destroyed as soon as she would fetch her followers. And revelations would unfold. Behind her suavely acute and toned voice, there was a deep tone that only few could reach. Behind her humble upbringing, there was an uncommon sensibility and intelligence. Her disguise was her irrepressible technique. Elis was pure emotion. And singing was not her final objective, she really wanted to make people happy. This film honours Elis and creates a singular portrait of Brazil's biggest star.

FlorCaveira (2017)

Part of the "I Love My Label" documental project dedicated to independent music labels from Portugal.

Humberto Gessinger: inSULar (2014)

Celebrating a 30-year carrer, the multi-instrumentist, singer, composer, and brazilian writer, Humberto Gessinger is releasing the DVD "Insular - Ao Vivo". This is the register of the concert recorded in Belo Horizonte/MG; It counts with songs from his new album, as well as older hits from his formers works.

Zé Pedro Rock ‘n’ Roll (2020)

Zé Pedro, the legendary guitar player of Xutos e Pontapés, is the greatest name in Portuguese rock ‘n’ roll. He was its main driving force, not only as the founding guitar player of the greatest Portuguese band ever, but also by promoting the genre as a music critic, radio broadcaster and owner of Johnny Guitar, a mythic club and concert hall in Lisbon where so many bands took their first steps.

Mutantes S.21 – 25 Years Later (2019)

Twenty-five years after the edition of “Mutantes S.21”, Mão Morta returned to Theatro Circo for a celebration of their iconic album which remains an important milestone in Portuguese music. The album's nine tracks, recorded and filmed live throughout the concert, are interspersed with some of the album and Mão Morta’s stories told by members and former member of the group; and with documents from that time, including footage of the concert twenty-five years earlier.

Silence - Voices of Lisbon (2022)

Silêncio - Vozes de Lisboa (Silence - Voices of Lisbon) is a documentary set amongst the backdrop of a gentrified Lisbon. Following the footsteps of Céline - a local foreigner who has lived in Portugal for 20 years - we are introduced to Ivone Días and Marta Miranda, two female singers from different generations who fight for the survival of their art and their community. Their common language is Fado, a traditional style of music that talks about the daily struggle of living. With the lyrics of fado songs taking us through the story, the film explores the relationship between fado singers and the ever-changing world around them.

Life Won't Last Forever (2020)

Two cassettes are found in the old studio. Nothing is known about the artist. His music is played at parties and broadcast on the internet. Twenty years later, José Pinhal becomes one of the biggest myths of Portuguese popular music.

Paradise (2025)

In the early 90s, Portugal experienced its own dance music explosion. Raves of epic proportions and a new sound shaped what was then called: “Underground house music from a paradise called Portugal”. Featuring exclusive footage and interviews with DJs, producers, dancers, and promoters, the story unfolds to reveal the birth and evolution of Portuguese rave culture and its lasting influence on electronic music worldwide.

Change Nothing (2005)

A short film showing a rehearsal and live performance by Jeanne Balibar. Costa would go on to make a feature-length documentary with the same title and subject matter in 2009.

Perpetual Movements: A Cine Tribute to Carlos Paredes (2006)

The unconventional biography Perpetual Movements: A Cine Tribute to Carlos Paredes uses snippets of the guitarist's work as well as archival performance footage alongside a series of images created specifically for the movie in order to tell the tale of this multi-faceted artist

Uma Espécie de Punk (2017)

Portuguese documentary regarding the early punk scene in Portugal.

What Now? Remind Me (2014)

Joaquim Pinto has been living with HIV and VHC for almost twenty years. “What now? Remind Me” is the notebook of a year of clinical studies with toxic, mind altering drugs as yet unapproved. An open and eclectic reflection on time and memory, on epidemics and globalization, on survival beyond all expectations, on dissent and absolute love. In a to-and-fro between present and past memories, the film is also a tribute to friends departed and those who remain.

Redemption (2013)

On January 21, 1975, in a village in the north of Portugal, a child writes to his parents who are in Angola to tell them how sad Portugal is. On July 13, 2011, in Milan, an old man remembers his first love. On May 6, 2012, in Paris, a man tells his baby daughter that he will never be a real father. During a wedding ceremony on September 3, 1977 in Leipzig, the bride battles against a Wagner opera that she can’t get out of her head. But where and when have these four poor devils begun searching for redemption?

Lusitanian Illusion (2010)

Images and sounds expose the duality of Portugal during the days of WW2: a peaceful, god-loving, rural country, providing an escape route for over one hundred thousand European refugees to the Americas; and a political and cultural elite that disguised their Nazi inclinations just enough to play its neutral role in international politics.

La noche del fin del mundo (2008)

A retrospective analysis of the causes and consequences of the catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine on April 26, 1986.

Shrooms (2023)

Follows Dan, a young Venezuelan man currently living in Lisbon, who collects magic mushrooms in the forest and distributes them in the city to those in need of help - like a New Age Robin Hood - using pigeons as carriers.

Défilement (2023)

Daniela takes us to the most festive photographs in her family album, the photographs from her birthdays. It is through the images that she goes around the crowded table and reveals her greatest desires and frustrations and those of her closest family members.

The Metamorphosis of Birds (2021)

Filmmaker Catarina Vasconcelos sifts through the memories of her ancestors. Her naval officer grandfather, Henrique, who married her grandmother, Beatriz, on her 21st birthday, spent extended periods at sea, leaving her with six children. This is the beginning of a generational saga.

Porto of My Childhood (2001)

Manoel de Oliveira's autobiographical documentary about returning to his hometown.

Pára-me de Repente o Pensamento (2015)

A cup of coffee, a cigarette. A coin, another cup of coffee. Patients roam the halls. They walk alone. Waiting. Another smoke, a burning cigarette. Therapies that appeal to the senses. Routines that pull them back to reality. It's life repeating itself at psychiatric hospital spaces'. Lucidity and madness live together. From the outside world comes an actor in search of his character for a theatre play, diving into the inner world of schizophrenia. Patients are part of the creation of the character. Amidst the haze, the actor finds a poem by Ângelo de Lima, an alienated. The theatre character is born. Cinema documents it.

Floripes (2005)

The legend of Floripes, is about an enchanted moor of Olhão, in the Algarve. Enchanted moors are one of the cornerstones of Portuguese mythology. They are often seductive and being temptresses, they can offer a powerful reward, but also a terrible curse. Left in Portugal during the Reconquista while her family went back to North Africa, beautiful Floripes was condemned to roam her ancient kingdom in the Algarve until a man could undo her curse. Then she would marry him and give him her fabulous treasure. But if the man fails, she must eat his heart.

Ashore (2018)

Ashore portrays the life of a singular fisherman in an ancient riverfront community near Lisbon. Divided between the quiet solitude of the river and the family ties that wash him ashore, the film follows Albertino Lobo, as nature renews itself with each season cycle.

Pelé (2021)

Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil, this documentary captures Pelé's extraordinary path from breakthrough talent to national hero. Mixing rare archival footage and exclusive interviews, this documentary celebrates the legendary Brazilian footballer who personified football as art.

Working on the Douro River (1931)

Short silent documentary from 1931 about those working on the River Douro in Oporto.

Forever Chape (2018)

In the wake of the plane crash that claimed the lives of 71 people, the Brazilian soccer club Chapecoense seeks to rebuild the team that once made history.

Eusebio - The Story of a Legend (2017)

It all started in Mafalala, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. A kid kicked into rag balls and did not care much about school. This kid was called Eusébio da Silva Ferreira and would become one of the best footballers of all time. This is the narrative of "Eusebius - A History of a Legend", a documentary film made by Filipe Ascensão and that counted on the collaboration of Eusebio himself in the last years of his life, before dying, in January 2014. Released in the year in which Eusebio would be 75 years old, the film counts on testimonies of many people who have crossed with him, from Hilário da Conceição, his childhood friend who would also be a footballer, to Bobby Charlton, opponent in the 1966 World Cup, passing by Antonio Simões, the " White brother "who accompanied him from Benfica to the end of his US career, and some of his Portuguese soccer heirs like Luís Figo, Rui Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo.