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PORT30210

Academic Year 2025/2026

Migration Cinema in the Portuguese-Speaking World (PORT30210)

Subject:
Portuguese
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Languages, Cultures & Linguis
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Ana Vera
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

In recent decades, representations of migration, displacement, and diasporic experiences have acquired a relevant position in cinematographic narratives. Despite various classifications and denominations that have been assigned to this cinema (e.g. “migrant cinema”, “diasporic cinema” or “accented cinema”) they all converge to the fact that most films are starred by characters on the move, in the process of migration, in search of exile, land, space, a new sense of home.
This module aims to explore the various ways in which cinemas from the Portuguese-speaking world (Portugal, Brazil, Cape-Verde, Mozambique, and the wider diaspora) have represented migration at different historical moments, from the mid-20th to the present.
Students will analyse how films engage with the legacies of colonialism, rural–urban migration, postcolonial displacement, and transnational mobility, paying attention to the politics of representation, memory, and belonging.
Through close readings of films alongside critical scholarship, we will explore how cinematic journeys and film narratives negotiate Portugal’s colonial past and its relationship with former colonies, while reflecting the lived experiences of migrants and their descendants. Therefore, our discussions will situate films in their socio-historical contexts, examining the social, racial, and cultural discourses they reproduce or challenge.

Note: No prior knowledge of the Portuguese language or familiarity with the Portuguese-speaking world is required. All films will be subtitled in English.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module students will be able to:
1. Develop an in-depth knowledge of different cinematic narratives and representations of migration in the Portuguese-speaking world.
2. Analyse films critically using concepts from migration studies, postcolonial theory, and film studies (e.g., diaspora, transnationalism, accented cinema, border spaces).
3. Contextualise cinematic narratives within the historical, political, and social conditions that have shaped Lusophone migration, including colonialism, decolonisation, political upheavals, and economic challenges
4. Evaluate the politics of representation in Lusophone migration cinema, with particular attention to race, class, gender, and belonging.
5. Compare and contrast migration cinematic narratives from different Lusophone contexts, identifying shared legacies and distinctive perspectives.
6. Communicate critical arguments effectively through class discussion and written work, engaging with both primary film texts and secondary scholarship.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative Module content:

• Migration Cinema: key concepts
• Backlands and internal migrations: Barren Lives (Nelson Pereira dos Santos 1963); Central Station (Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, 1993)
• Rural migrants in the city (Lisbon): The Green Years (Paulo Rocha, 1963)
• Brazilian immigration and integration in Portugal: Foreign Land (Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, 1996).
• Global migrations, borders and belonging: Lisboners (Sérgio Tréfaut, 2004)
• Cape Verdean Migration & Pedro Costa’s Cinematic Worlds (Down to Earth, Colossal Youth, and Vitalina Varela)
• Postcolonial Urban Spaces & Second-Generation Narratives: Outros Bairros (dir. Inês Gonçalves, Kiluanje Liberdade, Vasco Pimentel, 1998); The Gilded Cage (Ruben Alves, 2013).
• Labour Migration, precarity and dystopian futures: Executive Order (Lázaro Ramos & Flávia Lacerda, 2020); Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures (Marco Martins, 2022)

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

43
Autonomous Student Learning

43
Lectures

12
Tutorial

12
Total

110

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module will be delivered face-to-face through two lectures, seminars, or workshops per week. It is designed to enhance students' ability to do film analysis and to connect their analyses with significant social, political, and cultural changes. Lectures will demonstrate close film analysis and build students' understanding of the relationship between film and its production context. Students will be expected to watch films ahead of class, to prepare questions or read secondary sources for seminars, and to participate actively in discussions. Specific learning activities will guide students in developing their analytical skills through film analysis and brief writing exercises.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
PORT20200 - Portuguese-Language Cinema


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Video-Essay: 10-12 m recorded video presentation/video essay focusing on one of the topics provided. See BrightSpace for the choice of Presentation Project Topics and detailed instructions Week 15 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Contributions to in-class discussions, debates, tasks and learning activities throughout the semester Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Graded No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Mid-term Essay: Write a 1000-word analysis of a specific film scene. Week 7 Graded No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be provided through Brightspace on online submitted components, with opportunities for one-to-one feedback

Students are not required to purchase any materials for this module.
All films (with English subtitles) will be available on Brightspace. Essential readings and learning materials will also be provided via Brightspace.

Name Role
Dr Pascale Baker Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
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