Não Te Sentes
by
Maria Canas,
Gabriel Ribeira,
Francisco Oliveira,
Marta Pimpão and
ricardo Vieira.
The short film "Não Te Sentes" can be either translated to "Don't Sit Down" or "You don't Feel Yourself" since the word "sentes", in portuguese, may refer to the act of sitting down or feeling something. This wordplay is present in the poem that goes along with the film, where the narrator often say to the protagonist "Não te sentes" giving the viewer the opportunity to interpret this as they want to.
All along the short film, our protagonist carries a sofa through the city, never using it as someone would normally use a couch. Whenever he sits, he won't sit directly on the couch but beside it. There's a dichotomy between being so careful with that couch (that somehow plays a part of the protagonist himself) but also not caring that much hurting it (while putting out a cigarette on the couch).
Our protagonist ends up falling in love with a girl that frequents the same spots in the city as him. The short film ends when she boldly sits on his couch and ask him if he wouldn't sit with her.
"Não Te Sentes" won the prize of "Best Photography" in Made In Deca 2021 and was nominated in the categories of "Best Argument", "Best Photography" and "Best Editing Techniques and Setting".
