C' est Pas La Vie En Rose by Leonor Bettencourt | PRT | 67'

C’est pas la vie en rose, by Leonor Bettencourt Loureiro, will close FEST 2025 with a sharp, provocative look at contemporary Lisbon. In her return to the festival, the director delivers a biting satire — a mockumentary where genres blur, languages mix, and the message is clear: we’re f*cked.

Told through the story of a successful foreign singing duo who decide to relocate to Lisbon, the film dives into the reality of a city being transformed: ransacked, gentrified, and increasingly unlivable for those who were born there. Tourism, real estate, and profit take over, while locals watch from the sidelines — if they can still afford to stay.

Balancing absurdity, dystopia, and a heavy dose of dark humor, C’est pas la vie en rose invites us to laugh (and cry) at the quiet violence of urban life in 2025. It’s Portuguese, but it could be anywhere. It’s cinema, but it’s also a mirror.