The short film ‘Colapso’, written and directed by Miguel Partidário, a lecturer at the Escola Superior de Educação do Politécnico de Setúbal (ESE/IPS), is the grand winner of this year’s edition of the 48 Hour Film Project (48Hfp) Lisboa, the Portuguese competition of one of the largest international events for short films, according to a press release.
According to the same source, the winning film, set in a near-future post-climate-collapse scenario, also features Inês Jaques, a graduate, and Catarina Raposo and Danyel Ulysses, both current students of the Higher Professional Technical Course (CTeSP) in Audiovisual Production at ESE/IPS.
Having premiered on the 18th, at Cinema São Jorge, in Lisbon, ‘Colapso’ collected seven prizes, including Best Film and Best Directing, and earned six further nominations in the competition, thus qualifying for Filmapalooza 2027, in Curaçao, the international competition of the 48Hfp, whose best films will be selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
“The 48Hfp is a fascinating festival. It is a launching pad for so many filmmakers who face the difficulty of assembling teams and investing to make films without support or funding,” says Miguel Partidário, recalling the technical and creative challenge of “producing an original film in just 48 hours,” as the competition proposes. In the early stage of his career, this recognition is seen as “fundamental for building a portfolio, not to mention the opportunity to reach Cannes,” he adds.
Regarding the theme, “Colapso” aims to be a warning about the climate crisis that, “after these years, after floods, storms, increasingly intense fires, with homes destroyed and lives lost, has again been forgotten,” not only by political power, but by a large portion of citizens.
“Throughout our lives we have heard messages of hope and we did nothing. I felt that perhaps we needed a real shake-up of reality, to see, feel on our skin the harshness of everything we can lose if we do nothing,” concludes the director.
Beyond the competition, the 48Hff is widely recognized as an intensive learning and networking experience, allowing students, young filmmakers and professionals to test writing, production, directing and post-production skills under strong creative pressure.
“Colapso” is temporarily available on the YouTube.
