Throughout January, the Montanha Pico Festival unfolds on Tuesday evenings at the Auditorium of the Museu dos Baleeiros, a branch of the Museu do Pico, bringing mountain culture to the screen through cinema.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Montanha Pico Festival remains the only festival in Portugal dedicated exclusively to mountain culture as explored through short films. This year’s program features a rich mix of Portuguese productions, international documentaries, and a special night that takes audiences on a cinematic journey around the globe.

All screenings begin at 9:00 p.m. and are free to the public. On January 13, the program highlights films by Joana Saraiva Marques, Nuno Pimentel, and Luís Sequeira, among others, with a focus on Portugal’s mountainous regions. January 20 is devoted to English-language documentaries, including The Unlimited World, the latest work by Austrian filmmaker Lukas Berger, produced by Mário Gajo de Carvalho, a familiar presence at past editions of the festival. On January 27, the screen opens to a truly international selection, with short films from Spain to Turkey, Iran to India—marking the festival’s first-ever screening of a movie from Tajikistan on Pico Island.

“The partnership between MiratecArts and the Museu do Pico offers an important opportunity to present artistic works that do not always find easy access to audiences,” said artistic director Terry Costa. “At the Montanha Pico Festival, island audiences are able to encounter images and stories from corners of the world that are often unfamiliar. It’s a way of educating ourselves through the arts—of getting to know the planet through short films.”

The Montanha Pico Festival runs through January 29, with Tuesday screenings at the Museu dos Baleeiros Auditorium, Thursday sessions at the Municipal Auditorium of Lajes do Pico, and a special weekend program from January 23 to 25 at the Madalena Auditorium. For more information, visit www.picofestival.com and follow MiratecArts on social media.

From Press Release