Tagline:

Sensitive eight-year-old Alma and her family travel to her grandmother’s village after she passes. When her aunt tells an ancient folktale, Alma gets caught up between reality and fantasy.

Synopsis:

Alma is a sensitive eight-year-old who lives in Lisbon with her mother and younger brother. Her cherished grandmother, Rosa, is ill and temporarily living with them in the capital. When she dies, Alma and her family travel to her grandmother’s village in the North of Portugal. After the funeral at Rosa’s home, Alma’s mother talks to her sister and agrees to stay a little longer in order to help repair the house and put it up for sale. One night, Alma’s aunt tells the tale of the Black Ox, an ancient folktale of the region, and the deeply imaginative girl is captivated by its mystery. In the story, the magical animal enters the village every last day of winter to seek out the spirits of the dead and take them to the darkness of the nearby forest. The villagers also celebrate this day with a festivity, representing the beginning of a new cycle. Alma is deeply fascinated by the tale and recklessly undertakes a search for this mythical figure, while still processing the death of her grandma, a subject her mother avoids to talk about. When a real black ox escapes from the nearby slaughterhouse, Tomás, Alma’s cousin who works there, is injured. The village’s men hunt down the animal, but it seems mysteriously undiscoverable. During her own secret search for the magical creature, which Alma turns into her mission, she questions the limits of life and death, getting caught up between reality and fantasy. When the last day of winter arrives Alma has an encounter inside the forest.

Project representatives:

Isabella Fusco (writer, co-director)
Bruno Pinheiro Melim (co-director)