The community of Covas do Barroso, in northern Portugal, learned that the British company Savannah Resources planned to build Europe’s largest open-pit lithium mine just meters from their homes. Faced with the looming threat, villagers organized to push the company off their land.

A Savana e a Montanha, directed by Paulo Carneiro, opened the “Best of Portugal” showcase at the Montanha Pico Festival on Thursday, January 15, at 9:00 p.m., at the Lajes do Pico Municipal Auditorium.

“The film was a kind of reconstruction, reinvention, or even reinterpretation of some of the events that took place in that community,” Carneiro said. The result was a hybrid documentary in which, through songs and Western-inspired imagery, villagers staged their own struggle.

Born in Lisbon and raised in Pontinha, a suburb of the capital, Carneiro earned a degree in Sound and Image from ESAD.CR and a master’s degree from Portugal’s National Film School (ESTC) and HEAD–Geneva. He made his feature debut in 2018 with Bostofrio, which went on to win multiple awards and screen at more than 40 film festivals, including Montanha Pico Festival—where the director appeared in person on his first visit to Pico Island.

A Savana e a Montanha premiered at the 2024 Directors’ Fortnight in France and was subsequently screened at dozens of festivals worldwide. The film received a Special Mention for Best Portuguese Documentary at the Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival, a Special Jury Mention at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain, and, in 2025, the Audience Award at Ajanta-Ellora in India, the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Blue Planet Future Festival in South Korea, Best Documentary Feature at the Dili International Film Festival in Timor-Leste, Best Director at the Ulsan Ulju Mountain Film Festival in South Korea, and Best International Film at UAFF in Turkey.

“Best of Portugal” was the special focus of the 12th edition of the Montanha Pico Festival, highlighting five films released over the past two years. In addition to Carneiro’s work, audiences viewed Banzo by Margarida Cardoso, Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes, O Teu Rosto Será o Último by Luís Filipe Rocha, and Hanami by Denise Fernandes. The selections were made by the festival’s artistic director, Terry Costa, based on creative and cinematic merit as well as each film’s impact since its release.

The 12th Montanha Pico Festival ran through January 29 across three screens on the Azorean “mountain island,” presenting 35 short- and feature-length films centered on mountain culture.