Commissioned by BoCA, “13 Alfinetes” is a new short film by João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata, a work of fiction that blends devotion, desire and spectres. Drawing inspiration from a miracle attributed to Santo António and filtered through the restless gaze of the two directors, the film draws on this legend to construct a contemporary tale of faith, revenge and disillusionment.

The narrative spans overlapping geographies and timeframes: from medieval Lisbon where everything begins, to an 18th century Madrid reflected in the paintings of Goya, to today’s Lisbon where miracles no longer happen — or perhaps they have only changed form. With an ironic, profoundly sensual gaze, “13 Alfinetes” explores the place of the sacred in a secularised world, enacting the persistence of myths and the drives that feed them.

Shot between Lisbon and Madrid, the film is also a baroque love letter to cinema, where the theatricality of gestures, the exuberance of settings and the tension between visible and concealed produce a ritual, profane ambience. The title harks back to an old madrileña love charm, evoking the intimate and violent dimension of faith as both body and fiction.

The world premiere of “13 Alfinetes” closes the film cycle Malamor / Tainted Love, signalling a new chapter in this collaboration between two of the most irreverent figures in contemporary Portuguese cinema.