Made when he was 33, not to be followed by another feature for some 20 years, and effectively starting the career of cinema’s oldest-ever filmmaker, Aniki-Bóbó has been somewhat lost among the legendary career of Manoel de Oliveira. For fans (a group I certainly include myself in), a full 4K restoration of the original camera negative is wonderful news; I’m further heartened that said restoration is shortly playing in both Venice Classics and TIFF. Ahead of this, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the new trailer.
Here’s the synopsis: “Carlito, the shy dreamer, and Eduardinho, the fearless leader, both court Teresinha, the only girl in the group. To show his affection, Carlito steals a doll and one night, runs over rooftops to deliver it. Tension builds between the boys, and the group begins to turn against Carlito.”
And here’s word of the restoration handled by Cineric Portugal, Irma Lúcia Visual Effects, and BillyBoom Sound Design: “This copy results from a 4K wet gate scan of the 35mm original camera negative and the optical sound negative, complemented by distribution prints. All the film elements are preserved by Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema. The scanning, digital restoration, and color correction were carried out under a partnership between Cineric Portugal and Irmã Lúcia Visual Effects, and the digital sound restoration was done by BillyBoom Sound Design in 2024, using a distribution print as reference. Digitization and restoration were coordinated by Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema, under the frame of the FILMar project, part of the European Financial Mechanism EEA Grants 2020-2024.”
Watch the trailer below:
Explore the full TIFF Classics lineup here.