THE FORTUNATE ONES
a film by Jeanne Waltz

The Fortunate Ones

A film by Jeanne Waltz

  • 2023
  • Portugal, Switzerland
  • 93 minutes
  • VO portuguese

Algarve, 1992. Milene’s life is disrupted when her very protective grandmother dies. Left alone, she goes to the abandoned factory which made her grandmother’s fortune. There she meets the Mata family from Cape Verde.
When Milene’s relatives return from their holidays, they want to manage her life. But Milene’s life gets out of hand. Little by little, Milene gets closer to Antonino Mata. For him it’s complicated: falling in love with the owners’ daughter is not a good idea. But Milene is so bright that he finally gives in.
The family, upset, decides to react.

The Fortunate Ones

Un film de Jeanne Waltz

  • 2023
  • Portugal, Suisse
  • 93 minutes
  • VO portugais

Algarve, 1992. La vie de Milene est chamboulée lorsque que sa très protectrice grand-mère décède. Restée seule, elle se rend à l’usine désaffectée qui avait fait la fortune de son aïeule. Elle y rencontre les Mata, une famille capverdienne.
Quand les proches de Milene rentrent de vacances, ils veulent prendre sa vie en main. Mais celle-ci leur échappe. Petit à petit, Milene s’approche d’Antonino Mata. Pour lui, c’est compliqué : tomber amoureux de la fille des propriétaires n’est pas une bonne idée. Mais Milene est si lumineuse qu’il finit par se rendre.
La famille, contrariée, décide de réagir.

CAST & CREW

With
Rita Cabaço
Milton Lopes
Maria Fortes
Beatriz Batarda
Isabel Muñoz Cardoso
Carla Maciel
Rúben Garcia
João Lagarto
Romeu Runa
Cleo Diára
Cucha Carvalheiro
Severa Reis
Elísio Pereira

Ana Zanatti
Dino D’Santiago

Written and directed by
Jeanne Waltz

Based on the novel by
Lídia Jorge

Director of photography
João Pedro Plácido aip

Editing
Myriam Rachmuth

Sound engineer
Henri Maïkoff

Sound editing
Benjamin Benoit

Mix
Denis Séchaud

1st assistant director
Rui Macedo

Script supervisor
Paulo Guilherme Santos

Art director
Luís Monteiro

Costume designer
Patrícia Doria

Makeup & Hair
Susana Correia

Gaffer
Paulo Silva

Key grip
Horácio Gonçalves

Line producer
Ângela Cerveira

Producers
Isabel Machado
Joana Ferreira
Elena Tatti

Production
C.R.I.M Produções
Box Productions

In coproduction with
RTS Radio Télévision Suisse Romande

Swiss distribution
Outside the Box

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Born in Switzerland in 1962. Lives and works in Portugal since 1989.

Started working as a production designer in the films of Teresa Villaverde, Tom Tykwer, Margarida Gil and Manuel Mozos (among others), then as a screenwriter for Joaquim Pinto, Paulo Rocha and José Alvaro de Morais.

Her films as a director have participated in the competitions of festivals such as Berlin, Locarno, Belfast, Vienna, Roma, Milan, Montpelier, Brussels, Dublin, Barcelona, ​​Huelva, Athens, Copenhagen, Kiev, Calcutá, Bombay, São Paulo, Buenos Aires , San Francisco, Miami, IndieLisboa, Vila do Conde, Santa Maria da Feira, Festroia, etc.

Her latest feature film received national (Quartz for best screenplay) and international awards, and was distributed theatrically in five countries and released on DVD in Switzerland and France.

Studied Japanese at Freie Universität Berlin (1982-86), managed a small cinema, theater, and concert hall in Berlin (1982-88).

Speaker at ECAL, Lausanne, (2009 and 2012), and led an actor directing workshop at the Cinema and Audiovisual Course at the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro (2011).

In 2019, completed a master’s degree in animation at the Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias.