ABSTRACT
This article seeks to analyse the strategy for distributing and exhibiting theFilm of disquiet (Filme do desassossego), by the Portuguese film-maker João Botelho, based on Fernando Pessoa'sBook of disquiet (Livro do desassossego). This strategy involved an unusual way of disseminating the film, because it was shown in theatres and municipal auditoriums in a national tour throughout Portugal, and on account of the diverse roles taken on by the director, based on a plan agreed with the film's producers. This paper's approach seeks to contribute to a understanding of the processes and dynamics of dissemination of art outside standard parameters. The article reveals the greater degree of interdependence in film work, and hence the fact that the directors are less able to control and manage the various resources involving production and dissemination. It also shows the effects of a particular combination of art and commerce, which emerged out of a desire to take risks and make a gesture of dissent. Taking on the role of impresario for his own work, João Botelho sought to give his work a more independent signature, and thereby attract greater attention to the film, as well as to publicize and promote the experience of watching it as something rare and unusual.
Keywords:
Fernando Pessoa; Art; Film; Circuits of distribution and exhibition; Consumption and reception