White Shadow
by Susana de Sousa Dias
Documentary, in post-production
Supported by ICA
Sombra Branca has as its starting point the photo albums of the family of Laura and Jaime Serra, former clandestine people in the period of the dictatorship. During the 27 years they lived under false identities, they had four children. Their daily life is well documented in the images. Everything would be normal, were it not for the paradox: according to the rules this family should not be photographed. Being clandestine, the mere existence of one image could ruin the whole disguise. Within this paradox, however, another is hidden: these are images that show us a conventional family, happy and united, within the molds dictated by the customs and traditional clichés of family representations of the fifties and sixties.
And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.
Steeped in clandestinity because of the dictatorship, the family found itself torn apart on several occasions. There were times when the children no longer recognized the faces of their parents. Only after the revolution of the 25th of April, were they able to all meet simultaneously in the same space.
The family albums show us none of this. In fact, we know today what these images hide from us. But what do they actually tell us, anyway?
From the images and the photographic discourse that underlies them, White Shadow seeks to reflect on the condition of clandestinity and the role of image as mediation between “real reality” and “constructed reality”, as it is called by José, son of Laura and Jaime.
Susana de Sousa Dias was born in Lisbon, in 1962. She has a Doctorate in Fine Arts (Audiovisual), a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art, a degree in Painting and a bachelors degree in Cinema. She studied music at the National Conservatory. Among her works are “Natureza Morta – Visages d’une dictature” (2005, Atalanta Prize, TaiwanIDF), “48” (2009, Grand Prix Cinéma du Réel, FIPRESCI prize, among others), Still Life | Stilleben (installation, 2010) and “Obscure Light” (2017). Fordlandia Malaise (2019) is her most recent film.
Susana’s works were exhibited at international film festivals and exhibitions (Viennale, Visions du Réel, Sarajevo IFF, Torino FF, PhotoEspaña, Documenta, etc.). In 2012 she received a tribute from Cinéma du Réel and was a guest artist at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, New York. That same year she formed a group that directed the Doclisboa, International Film Festival for two consecutive editions (2012-2013). She is a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon.
Synopsis
Sombra Branca has as its starting point the photo albums of the family of Laura and Jaime Serra, former clandestine people in the period of the dictatorship. During the 27 years they lived under false identities, they had four children. Their daily life is well documented in the images. Everything would be normal, were it not for the paradox: according to the rules this family should not be photographed. Being clandestine, the mere existence of one image could ruin the whole disguise. Within this paradox, however, another is hidden: these are images that show us a conventional family, happy and united, within the molds dictated by the customs and traditional clichés of family representations of the fifties and sixties.
And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.
Steeped in clandestinity because of the dictatorship, the family found itself torn apart on several occasions. There were times when the children no longer recognized the faces of their parents. Only after the revolution of the 25th of April, were they able to all meet simultaneously in the same space.
The family albums show us none of this. In fact, we know today what these images hide from us. But what do they actually tell us, anyway?
From the images and the photographic discourse that underlies them, White Shadow seeks to reflect on the condition of clandestinity and the role of image as mediation between “real reality” and “constructed reality”, as it is called by José, son of Laura and Jaime.
Susana de Sousa Dias
Susana de Sousa Dias was born in Lisbon, in 1962. She has a Doctorate in Fine Arts (Audiovisual), a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art, a degree in Painting and a bachelors degree in Cinema. She studied music at the National Conservatory. Among her works are “Natureza Morta – Visages d’une dictature” (2005, Atalanta Prize, TaiwanIDF), “48” (2009, Grand Prix Cinéma du Réel, FIPRESCI prize, among others), Still Life | Stilleben (installation, 2010) and “Obscure Light” (2017). Fordlandia Malaise (2019) is her most recent film.
Susana’s works were exhibited at international film festivals and exhibitions (Viennale, Visions du Réel, Sarajevo IFF, Torino FF, PhotoEspaña, Documenta, etc.). In 2012 she received a tribute from Cinéma du Réel and was a guest artist at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, New York. That same year she formed a group that directed the Doclisboa, International Film Festival for two consecutive editions (2012-2013). She is a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon.