Marine Atlan’s debut film La Gradiva has done it again. The French director’s coming-of-age drama about a group of students traveling to Pompeii swept the top prizes at the 30th Queer Lisboa — International Queer Film Festival, taking both the Best Feature Film and Audience Awards.
The festival wrapped up Saturday with a screening of Leah Nelson’s animated feature Tangles, and it was the largest in its history. The event drew more than 11,500 admissions across 67 screenings over nine days, marking a 53% increase over 2025.
The Numbers Behind the Record
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Total screenings | 67 |
| Total admissions | 11,500 |
| Increase vs. 2025 | +53% |
| Sold-out screenings | 9 |
It stood among the festival’s most extensive retrospectives ever by number of screenings.
Nine screenings sold out entirely, including:
- The Man I Love
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
- Bitter Christmas
- The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions
- Orlando
- La conscience politique
- The Passion According to GHB
- Jim Queen
The festival’s artistic director, João Ferreira, framed the milestone as proof of the festival’s staying power.
“This edition of the festival was particularly rewarding for us,” Ferreira told Variety. “We surpassed the historic milestone of 11,500 spectators, the highest attendance ever recorded in our festival.”
What the Jury Said About La Gradiva
The film’s treatment of identity and belonging was singled out by the jury, which includes cultural manager Kathleen Gomes, film programmer Maria João Madeira and actor Miguel Nunes.
“The archaeology of history, the formation of identities and the search for a sense of belonging converge as the vital force behind this dazzling debut work, which touches on the fragility of human nature,” the jury said.
Variety’s Jessica Kiang also expressed a similar sentiment, calling the film “seismically sensitive and deeply moving,” and describing it as “one of the most piercingly accurate and immersive portrayals ever” of that transitional period between childhood and adulthood.
La Gradiva is one of five finalists in the race to be France’s entry for this year’s best international feature Oscar. It will be released Stateside via 1-2 Special and is being handled in Portugal by NOS Audiovisuais.
The Rest of the Winners
Lorena Ros’ Spanish documentary Up and Running (“Corren las Liebres”) also took dual honors, winning Best Documentary and Audience Awards. The film documents the growing marginalization and homelessness among trans ex-prisoners in Barcelona.
Diana Cipriano, a film programmer, journalist Filipe Santa-Bárbara and Luis Rosado from the RTP2 editorial team made up the jury for that category, and they singled out the film’s generosity for praise.
“For the generosity and respect shown through the camera’s lens, for the magnetism of the women it portrays, particularly Noa, and the way it allows their character to rise above all their vulnerabilities,” the jury said.
Nông Nhật Quang’s Vietnamese doc Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava was singled out for a special mention, having premiered at Visions du Réel.
The Queer Art Competition’s top prize went to Mexican documentary Nuestro Cuerpo Es una Estrella que Se Expande, made by siblings Semillites Hernández Velasco and Tania Hernández Velasco. The jury, composed of Brazilian director Leonardo Mouramateus, curator Marta Mestre and German filmmaker Matthias Müller, also recognized Life Is About Losing Everything as a standout. That film, by brothers Benjamin Ramírez Pérez and Stefan Ramírez Pérez, is “fascinating and colorful hybrid” adapting Canadian poet and feminist writer Lynn Crosbie.
Short Films and the Queer Lisboa Legacy
A French production by Hélène Giannecchini took first place with Je veux qu’on se souvienne de nous, while a Brazilian-Paraguayan collaboration between Nay Mendl and Rosa Caldeira claimed the AltContent Award for Fronteriza.
Filmsaaz, an Iranian filmmaker, won the top prize at the In My Shorts Competition for Ãsheghetam, a French-Swiss-Iranian production.
Two Brazilian cinematographers, Aline Belfort and Caio Amado Soares, along with programmer Lou Loução, served as judges for a selection of short films. The total number of works they viewed came to 32, split between two separate sections.
Ferreira closed the reflection on the festival’s legacy.
“Having started the festival in 1997 as the first film festival in Lisbon, and still going strong, despite the many adversities we faced in these three decades, this really shows the artistic and political pertinence of queer cinema.”
Source material: “Marine Atlan’s French Oscar Hopeful ‘La Gradiva’ Takes Top Prizes at 30th Queer Lisboa – the Biggest Edition to Date,” Variety.
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