Dissemination
CIAC Researchers Participate in the 15th AIM International Congress in Mirandela
Between 13 and 15 May 2026, the 15th Annual Meeting and International Congress of AIM – Associação de Investigadores da Imagem em Movimento will take place in Mirandela, at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB) and the School of Communication, Administration and Tourism (EsACT). CIAC will be represented by several researchers participating in the event.
On 13 May, during the first parallel sessions at 10am, researchers Andreia Pintassilgo, Maria Caeiro Guerreiro, and Ana Isabel Soares will present “Digital audiovisual narratives in the mediation of intangible heritage: the cult of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, Loulé – Mãe Soberana”. In this presentation, they discuss how digital audiovisual narratives have expanded the field of audiovisual media by integrating moving images, sound, and interactivity into non-linear and contextual narrative structures. Through the analysis of the cult of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, known as Mãe Soberana, in Loulé, along with audiovisual collections and recordings, the researchers reflect on the potential of audiovisual media as a device capable of making symbolic and intangible dimensions visible within the local context.
At the same time, researcher Helyenay Souza Araújo will present “Communities that invent cinemas: the Imigratoria collective and new arrangements of audiovisual production between Brazil and Portugal”. This presentation proposes a reflection on new audiovisual production arrangements emerging from the work of the Imigratoria collective, an initiative dedicated to connecting, inspiring, and supporting Brazilian audiovisual professionals in migration contexts, particularly within the Brazil–Portugal axis.
At 4:15pm on 14 May, Ana Isabel Soares will present “Constructing a presence: audiovisual and (auto)biography in Marie Isabelle Canto da Maia”, reflecting on her ongoing research concerning the filmmaker, screenwriter, and actress Marie Isabelle Canto da Maia (1944–2022). Drawing on a vast photographic archive, numerous and diverse film records dating from 1972 to 1991, and information from sources ranging from printed publications to conversations with family members, the research seeks to construct a creative biography of this figure through the process of presentification enabled by these documents.
“North American popular music stars in Algarve cinemas: 1950–1974” will be the topic presented by Jorge Carrega, researcher and coordinator of the CIAC Working Group on Film Studies, also at 4:15pm. In this presentation, he proposes an analysis of the presence, reception, and impact of singer-actors such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Elvis Presley, and Pat Boone within Algarve cinema circuits, articulating local programming practices with transnational dynamics of film circulation. Between the 1950s and 1970s, Algarve cinemas became a privileged space of contact with North American popular culture during a period marked by the global expansion of mass culture, in which popular music stars played a central role.
On 15 May, during the sessions beginning at 9:30am, researcher Jesús Ramé will present “José Leitão de Barros: an unexpected influence on the creative processes of Spanish cinematography”, analysing the influence of Portuguese filmmaker José Leitão de Barros on Spanish cinema and his contribution to the articulation of a possible Iberian cinema. Through aesthetic and production innovations, particularly during the 1940s and 1950s — a period in which both countries lived under authoritarian regimes — Leitão de Barros produced co-productions and alternative versions that influenced the historical representation of those dictatorships.
CIAC’s participation concludes with the presentation “Between musicalities and oralities: an analysis of the film La vie est belle”, by Jusciele Oliveira in co-authorship with Morgana Gama, at 4:15pm. Based on an analysis of sequences from the film La vie est belle (Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1987), the presentation discusses how the musical genre relates to oral traditions and musicalities in African films, configuring possible ruptures with certain genre conventions.
In addition to their presentations, researchers Jorge Carrega, Jesús Ramé, and Helyenay Souza Araújo will also participate as moderators of thematic panels.
More information about the event and the full programme can be found (here).
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)