Cravos de Abril

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Cravos de Abril (April Carnations) is a Portuguese historic short film by Ricardo Costa. Covering the events between April 24 and May 1, it portrays the Carnation Revolution, which took place in Portugal in April 1974 and put an end to Oliveira Salazar's dictatorship.

Portugal Republic in Southwestern Europe

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

A short film is any motion picture not long enough to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term.

Ricardo Costa (filmmaker) Portuguese filmmaker

Ricardo Costa is a Portuguese film director and producer. He is the author of essays on cinema, vision, and language.

Contents

Synopsis

Introduction: the state of the country, the Portuguese Colonial War, the fascist dictatorship.

Portuguese Colonial War 1961–1974 armed conflicts in Africa between Portugal and independence movements

The Portuguese Colonial War, also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation, was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. The Portuguese regime was overthrown by a military coup in 1974, and the change in government brought the conflict to an end. The war was a decisive ideological struggle in Lusophone Africa, surrounding nations, and mainland Portugal.

The first hours of April 24 at Praça do Comércio in Lisbon. Besieging and besieged troops. The unfolding of events during the square occupation. A threatening frigate sails up and down the Tagus river. The rebelled armed forces move towards Largo do Carmo. The procession of tanks along Rua Augusta is followed by an increasing number of supporting citizens. Forces defending the old regime resist at the Chiado square. The headquarters of the National Republican Guard is attacked by rebels and capitulates. There a crowd of enthusiastic citizens join together inciting soldiers to fight.

Praça do Comércio Square in Estremadura, Portugal

The Praça do Comércio is located in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated near the Tagus river, the square is still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço, because it was the location of the Paços da Ribeira until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake. After the earthquake, the square was completely remodeled as part of the rebuilding of the Pombaline Downtown, ordered by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, who was the Minister of the Kingdom of Portugal from 1750 to 1777, during the reign of Dom José I, King of Portugal.

Lisbon Capital city in Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 505,526 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.8 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, including the Portuguese Riviera,. It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.

Tagus Longest river in the Iberian Peninsula

The Tagus is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. It is 1,007 km (626 mi) long, 716 km (445 mi) in Spain, 47 km (29 mi) along the border between Portugal and Spain and 275 km (171 mi) in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. It drains an area of 80,100 square kilometers (30,927 sq mi). The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course. Several dams and diversions supply drinking water to places of central Spain and Portugal, while dozens of hydroelectric stations create power. Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol it enters a wide alluvial valley, prone to flooding. Its mouth is a large estuary near the port city of Lisbon.

Agents from the security service agency PIDE/DGS, Salazar’s political police during the Estado Novo, are arrested. Their headquarters in Largo do Carmo is dismantled. The liberation of political prisoners from the Caxias fortress occurs in the night and the same will take place in Peniche next day, the prison of which will be the new home for the captured agents, the «pides».

<i>Estado Novo</i> (Portugal) 1933-1974 authoritarian regime in Portugal

The Estado Novo, or the Second Republic, was the corporatist far-right regime installed in Portugal in 1933. It was deeply rooted in Catholic social thought that was highly influential among both liberals and conservatives in Portugal. It evolved from the Ditadura Nacional formed after the coup d'état of 28 May 1926 against the democratic and unstable First Republic. Together, the Ditadura Nacional and the Estado Novo are recognised as the Second Portuguese Republic. The Estado Novo, greatly inspired by conservative and autocratic ideologies, was developed by António de Oliveira Salazar, President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal from 1932 to 1968, when illness forced him out of office. After 1945, his corporatist economic model was less and less useful and it retarded economic modernization.

Caxias (Oeiras) Civil parish in Lisboa, Portugal

Caxias is a former civil parish in the municipality of Oeiras, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Oeiras e São Julião da Barra, Paço de Arcos e Caxias. The population in 2011 was 9,007, in an area of 3.41 km².

Peniche, Portugal Municipality in Centro, Portugal

Peniche is a seaside municipality and a city in Portugal. It is located in Oeste Subregion in formerly Estremadura Province. The population in 2011 was 27,753, in an area of 77.55 km2. The city itself has a population of about 15,600 inhabitants.

The declaration of the revolutionary intents broadcast by the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA) illustrated by Siné. Mário Soares and Álvaro Cunhal arrive in Lisbon after their long exiles. The crowd at the «first May 1», the International Workers' Day rally in Lisbon, 1974, is carried away by their speech.

Siné French cartoonist

Maurice Sinet, known professionally as Siné, was a French political cartoonist. His work is noted for its anti-capitalism, anti-clericalism, anti-colonialism, anti-semitism, and anarchism.

Mário Soares President of Portugal

Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL was a Portuguese politician who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.

Álvaro Cunhal Portuguese politician and writer

Álvaro Barreirinhas Cunhal was a Portuguese communist revolutionary and politician. He was one of the major opponents of the dictatorial regime of the Estado Novo. He served as secretary-general of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) from 1961 to 1992. He was one of the most pro-Soviet of all western Europe communist leaders, often supporting the Soviet Union's foreign policies, including the intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Soldiers are enthusiastically given red carnations by passers on the Lisbon streets. The wall paintings in honor of the revolution. The future in question. (Producer´s citation)

Credits

Rádio e Televisão de Portugal Portuguese public broadcasting company

Rádio e Televisão de Portugal is the public service broadcasting organisation of Portugal. It operates four national television channels and three national radio channels, as well as several satellite and cable offerings.

Eduardo Gageiro is a Portuguese photographer.

History

Early in the morning on April 25, 1974 Ricardo Costa is awoken with a phone call from his friend Ilidio Ribeiro, his partner in publishing activities, announcing that a revolutionary coup was just taking place and that he would soon pick him up with his car. Costa owns a Paillard-Bolex 16mm movie camera, running with a manual wound spring motor. He has two color Eastman 120 meters (390 feet) rolls stored in the frig. Their publishing house, MONDAR editores, has in press a book with drawings by the French humorist Maurice Sinet (Siné), entitled CIA. [1] The publishers are watched by the police, the PIDE/DGS, since their books disturb good order and subvert the rules of the fascist regime which has been governing Portugal for about fifty years.

When he arrives, Ilidio starts tuning up his radio, searching for news, and occasionally finds out the frequency in which the National Republican Guard (GNR) broadcasts orders to their agents to fight against their enemy. Understanding where the confrontation would take place, they move to the right place immediately, the square Praça do Comércio , where the rebels had gathered their tanks.

Ricardo Costa starts shooting. Just a few curious persons moved on the square among soldiers at that time, besides some professional photographers, such as Eduardo Gageiro. The situation evolves. More and more citizens arrive to support the coup. Followed by an increasing crowd, the tanks move to the Largo do Carmo, to the headquarters of the GNR, where Marcelo Caetano, Salazar’s successor, had taken refuge. Ricardo makes short shots to spare film, but captures the essential events occurred until dawn. Cut in four 30 meters rolls, 120 meters of film have been impressed.

Next day a copy from the negative is made at Ulyssea Filme. Foreign media are now aware of the importance of the coup. The German television chain ARD had been in the meantime contacted and wants those pictures. The Lisbon airport is closed, but the film is sent with the first plane flying to Germany, where it is broadcast. Siné takes the first airplane flying from Paris to Lisbon and arrives just before the celebrations of May 1. Engaged in the revolution in his own way, he makes drawings from what he sees and comments to the Portuguese press. [2] [3] [4] [5]

The second 120 meters reel is used to film Mário Soares’s and Álvaro Cunhal’s arrivals, the Workers’ Day rally in Lisbon and other occasional events just before Mai 1. [6] [7]

The RTP, Portugal's public television, will open its doors to independent film directors and producers in 1975. Ricardo Costa closes MONDAR editors and leaves his work as high-school teacher to dedicate entirely to filmmaking. For about two years he will also collaborate with the German television chain ARD and the CBS filming events during the so-called PREC (The revolutionary period in Portugal, April 1974 through April 1976).

The film April Carnations will just be finished when the revolutionary period comes to an end. It will premiere at the RTP in Mai 1 1976.

See also

Related Research Articles

Carnation Revolution revolution

The Carnation Revolution, also known as the 25th of April, was initially a 25 April 1974 military coup in Lisbon which overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. The revolution began as a coup organised by the Armed Forces Movement, composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated, popular civil resistance campaign. The revolution led to the fall of the Estado Novo, the end of 48 years of authoritarian rule in Portugal, and Portugal's withdrawal from its African colonies.

Portuguese Communist Party political party

The Portuguese Communist Party is a major political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist–Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist.

Marcelo Caetano Portuguese politician

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PIDE

The PIDE or International and State Defense Police was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the PIDE were the border, immigration and emigration control and internal and external State security. However, it became more known by its secret police activities.

25 de Abril Bridge

The 25 de Abril Bridge(Ponte 25 de Abril, 25th of April Bridge, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõt ˈvĩt i ˈsĩku ðɨ ɐˈβɾiɫ]) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus river. It was inaugurated on August 6, 1966, and a train platform was added in 1999. It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, US, because they are both suspension bridges of similar color. It was built by the American Bridge Company which constructed the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, but not the Golden Gate. With a total length of 2,277 metres (7,470 ft), it is the 32nd largest suspension bridge in the world. The upper deck carries six car lanes, while the lower deck carries a double track railway electrified at 25 kV AC. Until 1974, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge. The name "25 de Abril" commemorates the Carnation Revolution.

António de Spínola President of Portugal

António Sebastião Ribeiro de SpínolaGCTE ComA was a Portuguese military officer, author and conservative politician who played an important role in Portugal's transition to democracy following the Carnation Revolution.

1975 Portuguese Constituent Assembly election

The Portuguese Constituent Assembly election, 1975 was carried out in Portugal on 25 April 1975, exactly one year after the Carnation Revolution. It was the first free election held in Portugal since 1925, and only the seventh free election in all of Portuguese history. Turnout was a record 91.66 percent, which remains the highest ever in any Portuguese democratic elections.

Francisco da Costa Gomes, ComTE, GOA was a Portuguese military officer and politician, the 15th President of the Portuguese Republic.

Salgueiro Maia Portuguese soldier

Fernando José Salgueiro Maia, GOTE, GCL, commonly known just by Salgueiro Maia, was a captain of the Portuguese army. He made a significant contribution to the Carnation Revolution, which resulted in the fall of the then-ruling dictatorship.

Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Portuguese politician

Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, GCL, is a retired Portuguese military officer. He was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon. After the Revolution, Otelo assumed leadership roles in the first Portuguese Provisional Governments, alongside Vasco Gonçalves and Francisco da Costa Gomes, and as the head of military defense force COPCON. In 1976, Otelo ran in the first Portuguese presidential election, in which he placed second with the base of his support coming from the far-left. In the 1980s Otelo was accused of having involvement with the controversial Forças Populares 25 de Abril.

Carlos do Carmo Portuguese singer

Carlos Manuel de Ascenção do Carmo de Almeida ComIH better known as Carlos do Carmo is a Portuguese fado singer, one of the finest of the "Lisbon Song". He is the son of Lucília do Carmo, a well known fadista of her time. (Lucília Nunes de Ascenção do Carmo, born in Portalegre on 4 November 1919 and died in 1999, daughter of Francisco).

April Captains is a 2000 film telling the story of the Carnation Revolution, the military coup that overthrew the fascist dictatorship in Portugal on 25 April 1974. Although dramatised, the plot is closely based on the events of the revolution and many of the key characters are real - such as Captain Salgueiro Maia and Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano.

Licínio Pereira da Silva was a former Portuguese political prisoner under the regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, an era of Portuguese history known as the Estado Novo. Pereira da Silva was the last political prisoner convicted by the Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado, better known as the PIDE, the secret service force used by the Salazar regime to repress dissent during the Estado Novo.

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Celeste Caeiro Portuguese pacifist worker

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Edmundo Pedro Portuguese politician

Edmundo Pedro was a Portuguese politician and antifascist, as well as the founder and former leader of the Socialist Party (PS). An opponent of António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo regime and political prisoner during the 1930s and 1940s, Pedro later served as a member of the Assembly of the Republic's I, III and V legislatures following the end of Salazar's regime.

References

  1. ↑ Book cover of CIA by Siné, published by MONDAR editores, April 1974
  2. ↑ The Carnation Revolution seen by Siné. This image, which is part of the film, is a scoop on the front page of the weekly magazine Sempre Fixe, 11 Mai 1974 (pt)
  3. ↑ Drawing from the book CIA on the front page of the newspaper Diário Popular: "omnipotência", DL, 14 Juin 1974, page 1
  4. ↑ Drawing by Siné for the film Cravos de Abril: Rebel soldier
  5. ↑ Siné declares to the weekly newspaper Expresso: The CIA is certainly preparing to infiltrate – article, Mai 11 1974 (magazine, supplement, page VI)
  6. ↑ Cravos de Abril – film page at RC filmes (fr)
  7. ↑ Interview with Ricardo Costa at Latitudes (French magazine)

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