EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based sales company Luxbox has acquired the first three films of Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues, marking the launch of its third classic collection.
The move follows the company’s acquisition of the complete filmography of late Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, who died at the age of 70 last month, as well as a selection of 34 feature and short films by Portuguese grandmaster Manoel de Oliveira.
The new acquisitions Phantom (2000), Two Drifters (2005) and To Die Like a Man (2009) are emblematic of Rodrigues’ cinema exploring human desire in all its forms, with a particular focus on queer experiences.
His debut feature Phantom revolves around Sergio, a Lisbon trash collector who roams the city by night seeking rough anonymous sex, while Two Drifters follows Rui, who loses his lover Pedro on the night of their anniversary and is befriended by the recently dumped Odete, who in turn comes obsessed with the deceased Pedro, whom she never met.
Die Like A Man, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard, revolves around a transgender woman who is trying to erase any past history of herself as a male, as she struggles with a young male lover and a problematic son.
The films, produced by Rosa Filmes, have recently been restored from the original 35 mm camera negatives and negatives preserved by the Portuguese Cinematheque.
Scanning, digital restoration, and color correction were undertaken through a partnership between Cineric Portugal and Irma Lucia Efeitos Especiais, while digital sound restoration was executed by Hugo Leitão.
Both digitization and restoration were coordinated by Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema, under the framework of the FILMar project, part of the European Financial Mechanism EEA Grants 2020–2024.
“Luxbox is thrilled to represent the early works of this daring filmmaker, whose cinema explores desire, eroticism and the raw instincts of human behavior,” said the company.