The short film “First Date,” by Luís Filipe Borges, winner of the “Curta Pico Award,” is being premiered on the mountainous island where it was filmed.

The film was produced all over the island, with the support of the three municipalities, and scenes were shot in various locations in the municipalities of Lajes do Pico, Madalena, and São Roque do Pico. During production, the actors admitted to falling in love with Portugal’s highest mountain.

“In Pico I not only reached the highest point in Portugal, but also the pinnacle of my career as an artist, which happens when, after working here with one of the most renowned Portuguese directors, I return to the island to be directed by a long-time friend, the brilliant Luís Filipe Borges,” admits Ana Lopes, the lead. “Like the fascinating Melissa that he wrote for me, I’ve already felt the vertigo of being in love with this land and, like Romana Petri’s characters, I know what it’s like to arrive from America to be submerged in the purity of the Azores, or to be uplifted by the breath of our people.”

From Los Angeles to the island of São Miguel, where she lives, Ana Lopes has a curriculum full of works that take us from romance to horror. About the experience of the romantic comedy in Pico, she adds: “The week of filming was magical and unforgettable, because I was doing what makes me happiest in a place that is so special to me, surrounded by people for whom my personal and professional admiration has completely merged.”

Actor Cristóvão Campos, known for films, television series, and Portuguese theater, says, “coming to Pico means building a new room in my heart. It wasn’t my first time on this lovely island. When I came here, I left with my mind on going back. But I never thought it would take me so long, and even longer, to film. And coming to Pico to film is a marriage seat with the island. After sharing the huge adventure of making a movie with this team and the locals, it left me wanting to be from this land. There’s an attraction to everything about it, to its people, to discovering its mysteries and history, to being part of it, to immersing myself and, for a moment, being from here. And this is so similar to what the characters in this short film feel.”

The actors will return to the mountain island with director Luís Filipe Borges and the production team to share their work. Picarotos and Picoenses are invited to this unique moment, the premiere, next Saturday, January 4. The special event starts with a red carpet at 4pm at the Madalena Auditorium. It is part of the Azorean Audiovisual Meeting as part of the Montanha Pico Festival – admission is free. www.picofestival.com

From MiratecArts Press Release, Terry Costa, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring FILAMENTOS.