Imaginary Friends is a documentary and a performance, which invites the audience to watch a documentary film during its post-production phase with live addition of sound effects in a Foley* studio. It is a reflection on what cinema can become while exploiting an effect most widely used for construction of believable illusions.
The film aims at disillusioning its viewers, preventing them from forgetting the unreality and the tricks used to create the magic of cinema, to make them believe that all is true .
* Foley is a process of creating sound effects recorded in a Foley studio, where sounds of steps, closing doors, thunderclaps etc. are reproduced by sound designers alongside the film with the purpose of making the scenes appear more realistic.
Rita Barbosa is a visual artist. Graduated in the Digital Arts, from the Sound and Image course at UCP (2002). Her recent project Imaginary friends, premiered at Temps d’Image and was presented at the Rivoli Theater in Porto and Convento São francisco. Her first short film Friends After Dark, produced by O Som e a Fúria, premiered internationally at the Locarno Festival. She has been an advertising Director since 2006 and has collaborated in the creation, visual conception, video and scenography on various projects in the areas of theatre, dance and performance, among which Três Dedos Abaixo do Joelho, by Tiago Rodrigues. She has directed experimental videos such as Get Bent and Pop Fish, shown at exhibitions and festivals such as the Cartier Foundation, Impakt and Courtisane.
Artistic Direction Rita Barbosa
Sound Design Rui Lima e Sérgio Martins, with the collaboration of Jonathan Saldanha
Performance Rui Lima, Sérgio Martins e Daniel Pizamiglio
Production Henrique Figueiredo
Sound Technician João Pratas
Stage Management Helena Ribeiro
Light Design Rui Monteiro
Graphic Design Dayana Lucas e Pedro Nora
Director of Photography Jorge Quintela
1st Camera Assistant Miguel Ângelo
2nd Camera Assistant Bruno Medeiros
Editing Rita Barbosa
Colorist Nuno Garcia – Spectacular Studio
Financial Support Câmara Municipal do Porto/ Criatório, SPA e AGECOP
Support Take It Easy, Planar, Teatro do Bolhão, Circolando, Mala Voadora, Spectacular Studio
Co-production Residency O Espaço do Tempo
Thanks to Ópera Isto Associação, Hotel Vila Galé Porto, EPES – Escola Profissional de Economia Social, Fundação Escultor José Rodrigues, Lipor, Associação de Comandos
Special Thanks to Ana Carocinho, Ana Paula Sousa, António Selas, Bruno Bogarim, Cláudia Santos, Dayana Lucas, Daniel Oliveira, Daniel Ribas, Ekaterina Solomina, Filipe Pureza, Francisco Alves, Janine Lamas, Joana Dilão, João Pedro Dias, Joaquim Fernandes, Jorge Garcia, José Manuel Castro, Maria Varela, Mariana Dixe, Miguel Guia, Nanica, Nuno Garcia, Paula Marques, Patrícia Carvalho, Pedro Barreiras, Pedro Nora, Pedro Nuñes, Rui Horta, Sofia Arriscado, Susana Picanço
Amigos imaginários (Imaginary Friends) is a fascinating film/performance by Rita Barbosa, performed live by two experienced musicians (Rui Lima e Sergio Martins) as well by Daniel Pizamiglio, a solid performer living and working in Portugal since several years. Multifaceted composer Jonathan Saldanha has also collaborated in this production. This is a sensitive work entering the universe of film and revealing us a parallel reality of sounds performed live, that alter, challenge and question our perception towards the images we witness. What is true and what is constructed? How do we perceive film and what stories are added when we witness the unfolding of a life performance intimately connected with the screen behind it?
At the end, we are simply fascinated and immersed in pure poetry. Especially during this times of pandemic, where screens triumphed over all forms of communication, this work adds a layer of humanism and touching honesty to the performance rituals. At times it almost feels as a logbook of sound memories is being added to the images, as if the silence itself becomes unbearable. Other times we welcome this same silence of the screen as a statement of freedom – moments of silence generously offered to us in a world full of noises.
Rui Horta
CONTACTS
Rita Barbosa
ritambarbosa@gmail.com
00 351 933 614 676
Mickael de Oliveira was born in France, in 1984, and has lived in Portugal since 1999. In 2013, he got his Ph.D. in contemporary Portuguese and European dramaturgy from the School of Humanities – University of Lisbon, where he is post-doctoral fellow researching the presence of literature in contemporary theatre and dance. In 2008, Mickael founded Colectivo 84, the theatre company for which he develops playwriting and directing projects. His work O que é teu entregou aos mortais was distinguished with the Maria Matos New Playwriting Award (Maria Matos Municipal Theatre, 2007), and Clytemnestra received an Honorable Mention – António José da Silva Prize (D. Maria II National Theatre, Lisbon / FUNARTE, Brazil, 2012). Some of his most recent productions include Oslo–Fuck Them All and Everything Will Be Wonderful (co-created with Nuno M Cardoso, Gil Vicente Academic Theatre, São Luiz Municipal Theatre), The Constitution (2016, Dona Maria National Theatre), and the diptych Socrates Must Die (Socrates’ Death / The Life of John Smith, 2017/2018, Vila Flor Cultural Centre, São Luiz Municipal Theatre, Viriato Theatre, Gil Vicente Academic Theatre. Mickael has served as the artistic director of END – New Dramaturgy Encounters, a project that aims to foster new Portuguese and international playwriting (1st edition at the São Luiz Municipal Theatre, Lisbon, Nov. 2010; 2nd and 3rd editions at the Gil Vicente Academic Theatre, March, Coimbra, 2015/2019). He was Assistant Professor of Arts Administration and Artistic Studies at the School of Education and Humanities (Leiria), guest Lecturer at the School of Theatre and Film Studies (Lisbon), and guest Assistant Professor at the School of Humanities – University of Coimbra. From September 2011 to August 2015, Mickael was Assistant Artistic Director of the Gil Vicente Academic Theatre (Coimbra).
Patrícia Portela is a writer and performance maker born in 1974, living between Belgium and Portugal. She has a BA in set and costume design by the high school of theatre and cinema of Lisbon, a Masters of Arts in scenography and dramaturgy of space from the University of Utrecht and Saint Martins college of art in Antwerp, a post-graduation in theatricality and performativity from APT in Antwerp, a film stage at the European film school in Ebeltoft, Denmark, and a Masters in Philosophy of the University of Leuven, Belgium. Since 2003 she has worked on her own performances and installations in collaboration with international artists. She has achieved national and international recognition for her unusual work and is considered one of the most daring artists and innovative writers of her generation. She won the Revelation Prize in 1994 for her creative work in performance and cinema, the Prize Teatro na Década for T5 in 1999, the Gulbenkian Foundation Prize Madalena de Azeredo Perdigão for the performance Flatland I in 2004 and was one of the 5 finalists of the Sonae Media Art Prize 2015 with her installation Parasomnia, amongst other prizes. She has been invited to participate in the prestigious International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa in 2013 and to be the first Outreach Fellow. She was the first literary resident in Berlin in 2016, sponsored by the Portuguese Embassy in Germany/Instituto Camões. She lectures “dramaturgy and space” and “image” regularly at Universities and cultural centers in Portugal (such as University of Minho or University of Lisbon) and abroad (University of Antwerp, Escola de Escrita in Curitiba, etc). She is the author of several novels, short stories and performances, such as Dias úteis (2016, considered one of the books of the year by several reviewers) or Banquet (finalist at the Novel Prize of APE 2012). She is a chronicle writer for the prestigious Jornal de Letras since 2017 and for the National Radio Antena 1.
Rui Horta was one of the most influencial choreographers of his generation, his work being presented all over the world such as the Theatre de la Ville, that co-produced it for over a decade. He directed S.O.A.P. at the Mousonturm, and created for many companies such as NDT, Cullberg, Geneva, Gotemburg, etc. 
