Credits

With João Vicente, Crista Alfaiate, Marco Paiva, Mafalda Jara, Maria Marques, Lucas Branco Lima
Directed by Mónica Lima, Written by Gonçalo Branco, Mónica Lima, DoP Faraz Fesharaki, Edited by Francisco Moreira, Art Direction Cláudia Lopes Costa, Music Gonçalo Sousa, Sound & Sound design Paulo Lima, Executive Producer DFFB Andreas Louis, Producers Filipa Reis, Luise Hauschild, Co-producer Mariam Shatberashvili, Produced by Uma Pedra no Sapato, Co-produced by New Matter Films, German Film and Television Academy Berlin

Fic, 25’, Colour, 16mm, DCP, 1.66:1, Dolby 5.1, Portugal/Germany, 2023

—

Production
Uma Pedra No Sapato

Co-production
New Matter Films
German Film and Television Academy Berlin

Financial Support
Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual (ICA), GDA, DFFB

Distribution and Sales
Agência — Portuguese Short Film Agency
Joaquim Pedro Pinheiro
agencia@curtas.pt

—

Awards

Winner - Ammodo Tiger Short Competition – International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2023

Jury statement: “Mónica Lima’s tender narrative establishes a context in the global Covid-19 lockdowns, zooming in on a couple whose difficult feelings are sown among the stillness of their sun-dappled apartment and garden. A soft-touch approach allows for Alba and Xavier’s relationship to be telegraphed over the course of several days, punctuated by encounters with a rogue peacock, a barking dog, several neighbours and, most importantly, their children. Natureza Humana brilliantly depicts the uncertainty of the global lockdowns – and the inevitability of life moving on despite them – creating an elegantly simple but effective chamber drama between its two protagonists and the animals and humans that surround them."

Grand Prize Winner – REGARD Saguenay International Short Film Festival, 2023

Jury statement: “The author, in an elegant and gentle approach, tells us about a situation in which an isolated couple face a delicate matter during the global lockdown. A subtle script and smart camera let us deeply observe intimate interactions between humans and human nature in a house surrounded by plants and a sublime sound coming from nature.”

Best Short Film – Achtung Berlin Filmfestival, 2023

Jury statement: “This film invites us to enter a confined space in which a relationship in its intimacy and closeness is developed. Time expands and envelops us in a moment of reflection in which we question our sense of meaning and connection, past and future, life and death. With tender and delicate images, this film paints a sensitive portrait of human nature that encourages us to be patient and mindful. In a garden hidden among houses we are welcome to cultivate our feelings and thoughts.”

Best Film & Audience Award of the National Competition – Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, 2023

Jury statement: “A work that stands out for the beauty of its images and the depth of its silences. Directed from a moving understanding of human nature, the interpretations as well as the sensuality of the frames drag us into the core of a community that observes a vanishing world, where the bond sown becomes the most necessary nourishment. A delicate portrait that takes us into the inner landscapes that a grieving couple goes through.”

Youth Award for Best Short Film in Portuguese Language Competition – CineEco: Serra da Estrela Environmental Film Festival, 2023

Jury statement: “The chosen short film reflects the fear for everything that is yet to come. With a simple sentence, it invites us to question what world we want to leave behind and to what extent are we willing to bring a child into a world that is about to fade away. (…)”.

Best Directing (Mónica Lima) & Best Photography (Faraz Fesharaki) Awards – Prémios Curtas (2nd Edition), 2024

Best Live-Action Film Award in Whole Wide World Competition – International Short Film Festival Zubroffka, 2024

Jury statement: “This story unfolds from a garden’s humble beginnings, growing from bare soil to lush cascades of fruit and vegetables. We were captivated by how the stunning imagery of nature’s abundance was contrasted with the quiet, emotional drama of a couple failing to conceive, each partner coping with the struggle in their own way.”

—

Festivals

•52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam (Ammodo Tiger Short Competition), Netherlands, 2023
•27th Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival (Official Competition), Canada, 2023
•52nd New Directors/New Films, New York City (Shorts Program), USA, 2023
•19th Achtung Berlin FilmFestival (Short Film Competition), Germany, 2023
•15th Lichter – Filmfest Frankfurt International (International Short Film Program), Germany, 2023
•45th Golden Harvest Awards – Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (Golden Choice of the Year Program), Taiwan 2023
•38th Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (Iberoamericano Shorts Competition – Fiction), Mexico, 2023
•20th Vienna Shorts (Expedition – Curated Program), Austria, 2023
•21st Tabor Film Festival – International Short Film Festival (International Competition), Croatia, 2023
•31st Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival (National & International Competition), Portugal, 2023
•19th Lago Film Fest – International Festival of Independent Cinema (International Competition), Italy, 2023
•71st Melbourne International Film Festival (International Competition), Australia, 2023
•7th Drim Short Film Festival (International Competition), North Macedonia, 2023
•12th Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec (La beauté du quotidien Program), Canada, 2023
•36th Love & Anarchy – Helsinki International Film Festival (Family Ties Theme), Finland, 2023
•29th Cine Eco – Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival (Portuguese Language Short Film Competition), Portugal, 2023
•50th International Film Fest Gent (International Short Film Competition), Belgium, 2023
•6th El Gouna Film Festival (Official Competition), Egypt, 2023
•33th Message To Man – International Film Festival (International Competition: Fiction), Russia, 2023
•45th CineMed – Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film (Panorama Courts Métrages), France, 2023
•29th Caminhos do Cinema Português (Caminhos Selection – Official Competition), Portugal, 2023
•24th Izmir International Short Film Festival (Panorama Section), Republic of Türkiye, 2023
•17th KFFK / Short Film Festival Cologne (Competition), Germany, 2023
•Beijing International Short Film Festival (International Competition), China, 2023
•36th Festival Premiers Plans d’Angers (European Short Film Competition), France, 2024
•45th FilmFestival Max Ophüls Preis (Transitlandschaft Program), Germany, 2024
•20th Akbank Short Film Festival, Republic of Türkiye, 2024
•9th Burgas International Film Festival, Bulgaria, 2024
•FIC VIA XIV – Festival Internacional de Curtas de Verín, Spain, 2024
•Shortcutz Guimarães, Portugal, September 2024
•Shortcutz Ovar, Portugal, September 2024
•10th Curt’Arruda – Festival de Cinema de Arruda dos Vinhos, Portugal, 2024
•7th Filmfest Sundsvall, Sweden, 2024
•18th ŻUBROFFKA International Short Film Festival, Poland, 2024
•5th Triste para Sempre, Portugal, 2024

6th European Short Film Audience Award (ESFAA)

•27th Brussels Short Film Festival, Belgium, May, 2024
•32nd Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, Portugal, July, 2023
•40th INTERFILM - International Short Film Festival Berlin / KUKI, 17th Young Short Film Festival Berlin, Germany, November, 2024
•53th ALCINE - Festival de Piezas Preciosas y Diamantes en Bruto, Spain, November, 2024

Other Screenings

•6th European Short Film Audience Award - ESFAA, 27th Brussels Short Film Festival, Belgium, May, 2024
•Kortfilm.be: Selection of the best of the 27th BSFF, May 2024
•Ampla Mostra de Cinema, March 2024
•O Dia Mais Curto – Cinema Ideal (sessão especial), Lisboa / December 2023
•Der KurzFilmTag – Short Film Day Female Gaze, Berlin  ⁄  December 2023
•Filmoteca Española – El Día Más Corto (Vila do conde), Madrid ⁄ December 2023
•Cineclube Gardunha, Fundão ⁄ November 2023
•Curtas Vila do Conde on Tour: Viseu, Lisboa, Leiria, Coimbra, Vila Real, Pombal / September to November 2023
•CineAvante, Portugal ⁄ September 2023
•15th Kuan-Du Film Festival (Contemporary Filmmakers segment), Taiwan / October 2023
•Wuhan Contemporary Photography and Art Center, China, June 2024
•Kortfilm.be, Programme “Mourning and Loss” (Lumière Bruges), Belgium, October 2024
•Cineclube Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, November 2024

—

Media

The Film Verdict – Monica Lima’s tactile and delicate drama about the desire to nurture and propagate (by Ben Nicholson)

“This is also, in part, due to the relationship depicted between Alba and Xavier, drawn as it is with such colour and kindness that its dilemmas – even when about something so significant – become a difficulty to address together, rather than a point of dramatic opposition. Both of them are seen interacting with small children, either from the neighbouring apartment of friends who visit for dinner, and their warmth as potential parents shines through. (…) While their specific predicament is very personal, the film ultimately suggests they must address it as a unit and the message radiates forth, offering us all direction for the wider challenges that Human Nature posits as well.”

Jornal Público / Ípsilon – Natureza Humana e Pátio do Carrasco, a curta dá cartas em Roterdão (por Jorge Mourinha)

“… é também a partilha do ecrã dos seres humanos com a natureza que insiste em crescer pelo meio das crises humanas, das minhocas na terra ao pavão que se passeia pelas ruas do bairro (belissimamente fotografado em tons de Verão lisboeta por Faraz Fesharaki). (…) ”… há também que dizer que Natureza Humana confirma a segurança do olhar de Mónica Lima e revela, acima de tudo, uma cineasta pronta para “dar o salto” para a longa.”

Cahiers du Cinema – Festival International du film de Rotterdam: Conte nu  (par Elodie Tamayo)

“Ce n’était pas la seule comédie romantique de pandémie cherchant à repousser les murs à force d’autodérision lo-fi et de douceur dépouillée.”

Panorama-Cinema – REGARD 2023 (par Thomas Filteau)

“Comment, alors, prendre soin de ce que l’on imagine périr — le jardin, la terre, l’enfant à venir — dans un monde dont on observe à répétition les fissures ? Ces questionnements ne sont jamais utilisés ici comme l’occasion de joutes rhétoriques ou de tiraillements explicites, mais se déroulent plutôt dans l’arrière-plan de chaque image, comme la pensée travaillant à faire vibrer les corps calmes et silencieux auxquels s’attarde Mónica Lima. Le court se déploie alors comme un passage saisonnier entre espoir et inquiétude, en réfléchissant une alternative à ces deux pôles qui ne serait pas celle d’un réalisme rationnel, mais peut-être d'une patience soignée, aussi mélancolique soit-elle.”

24 Images – REGARD 2023 (par Jérôme Michaud)

“Ce court métrage parvient à saisir avec une rare force l’inquiétude de parents qui veulent absolument laisser un monde vivable à l’enfant qu’ils aimeraient avoir.”

À pala de Walsh – Curtas Vila do Conde 2023: a pose, o baú, a horta, o novelo e a cruz (por Ricardo Vieira Lisboa)

“[Lima lança-se] na descoberta dos tempos mortos, dos pormenores do quotidiano, dos não-ditos. Trata-se de um filme onde a construção narrativa é progressivamente descarnada, apetece dizer, esvaziada de palavras e mesmo de gestos para que sobre apenas a comunicação sem palavras de um casal atravessado pela infertilidade – e, exatamente por isso, parece casuístico e solto.”

Film at Lincoln Center – Meet the Filmmakers of the New Directors/New Films 2023 Shorts Programs (Interview)

“(Erik Luers) In your own words, tell us about your film. What should audiences know? (ML) It’s a film set in an apartment of a city under curfew, about a couple dealing in different ways with their difficulty to get pregnant and have a child. The film captures this disconnect between them, and how it reflects the way the characters internalize and deal with the climate crisis, pandemics and a general feeling of uncertainty.”

Jornal de Letras, Artes e Ideias – Mónica Lima entrevistada por Manuel Halpern
(Ano XLII, Número 1366, 8 a 21 Fevereiro 2023, pág. 2)

“(MH) Parece estar sempre presente o conflito entre o humano e a natureza, dividindo o protagonismo entre os dois, que depois se evidência na grande questão da história que é a paternidade/maternidade. Como geraste este equilíbrio e contraste? (ML) A relação complexa e disfuncional que temos com a natureza tornou-se mais visível durante a pandemia – o mundo abalado pela crise climática versus a nossa vontade de nutrir. O jardim que se abre para o exterior do filme também invade o interior, pela forma como estes dilemas são interiorizados pelas personagens: devo ter filhos neste mundo? Mas também está no ponto de vista visual, na observação da mundanidade dos objectos, das frutas, do existir, no lugar doméstico de uma casa, que expande a atenção aos detalhes. O filme deixou-se impregnar por essa dialética.”

Jornal do Fundão – Mónica Lima e Gonçalo Branco entrevistados por José Oliveira

“(JO) A respiração do filme também parece funcionar como catarse. Lenta, lânguida, dolorosa. O tempo fílmico e os corpos e respirares dos personagens. Como foi encontrar os atores adequados e chegar a esse ponto de ebulição? (ML) A haver alguma catarse no filme, é a das pequenas coisas e da ligação à existência através delas. Como é um filme que paira entre a descrença e uma esperança radical no futuro, era importante procurar um casal que conseguisse expressar essa ambivalência e ter duas pessoas em relação que, apesar das ameaças e dos desejos divergentes, conseguissem relacionar-se com afeto, quase sempre no silêncio(…)”

Magazine.HD – Entre Muros, a Crítica | Três curtas portuguesas mostram o melhor do cinema nacional (por Cláudio Alves)

“Apesar de considerar um dia na vida das suas personagens, “Natureza Humana” estende-se através do ciclo da natureza e das estações. Um jardim citadino onde Xavier passa as horas em lavoro parece crescer ao longo da fita, um milagre botânico que sugere uma história fora dos confins do tempo. Há um toque impressionista nisto tudo, a noção de que sentimos os efeitos de uma cronologia ditada pela experiência humana e não tanto pelo calendário.”

Jornal Público – Naturezas vivas: três curtas da colheita 2023 chegam juntas às salas (por Jorge Mourinha)

“É um olhar luminosamente melancólico sobre uma relação em suspenso e um casal em crise surda, mas também sobre uma cidade e um espaço tornados silenciosos pela pandemia, como um percurso tranquilo por um zoológico onde os animais estão tão livres como os homens.”

Diário de Notícias – Um check-up impecável das curtas nacionais (por Rui Pedro Tendinha)

“(…) um casal a repensar a vida após tentativas de engravidar num apartamento cujo quintal parece ser um espelho de angústias e pequenos milagres. Subtil e com pequenos grandes achados estéticos, é também um filme de atores. E que atores! Crista Alfaiate com uma empatia de câmara estonteante e um João Vicente a transbordar justeza.”

A Cuarta Parede – Curtas Vila do Conde 2023: Camiños da ficción (por Xavier Montoriol)

“(…) Lima traballa con sutileza as dúas coordenadas que se nos fixeron máis presentes que nunca durante o confinamento, o espazo e o tempo, conferíndolles un peso estrutural: deseguida nos decatamos de que na xeografía dese pequeno mundo materialízanse as distancias emocionais — ela pasa as horas no interior da casa, el está case sempre no xardín —, e que a progresión natural da luz non marca o transcurso dun día real, senón dun día cinematográfico no que as estacións se dilatan para abarcar primavera e verán.”