66th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
31 OCTOBER → 9 NOVEMBER 2025
Open Horizons
ARIEL
Lois Patiño
Spain, Portugal 2025 105 Color
i There are no scheduled screenings.
Film description
An Argentinian actress travels to the Azores to participate in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. Upon her arrival on the island, she finds no one from the troupe; there is not even a theater. After encountering Ariel, the air spirit of The Tempest who longs to be freed from its master, Prospero, the actress discovers that the curtain has already risen, the entire island has become a stage, and its inhabitants have morphed into Shakespearean characters. In his fourth feature film, Spanish director Lois Patiño creates a magical universe, where the dreamlike landscapes of the Portuguese Azores play the role of the desert island on which The Tempest is set. The film is a play-within-a-play, a meta-narrative with elements from the theater of the absurd, which derives from the director’s desire to reflect on how and from where, the poetry, humanity and deepness of Shakespeare’s texts can still challenge us today.
TiFF66 Greek Premiere
i There are no scheduled screenings.
