On the morning of October 11, filmmakers and guests of CineEco planted the first trees of the CineEco Forest at Quinta da Nogueira in Seia. In a few years, the grove will be a natural amphitheater where people can watch movies surrounded by nature.

A cinema with no walls or roof, designed to blend in with the landscape itself. This is the CineEco Forest project, which took its first step today at Quinta da Nogueira. This terrain is being converted into a leisure area for the people of Seia to enjoy. Once the trees have grown, the space will become a natural auditorium where some of the festival’s films can be screened.

The first 32 trees – one for each edition of CineEco – were planted by filmmakers and guests at the 2026 edition, who swapped the cinema for the countryside for a morning. The species planted were red-backed shrikes, hazel trees, birches and wild service trees. They are all native species and were chosen in collaboration with CISE – the Serra da Estrela Interpretation Centre – and the local council, due to their suitability for the region’s climate and soil. The morning concluded with the unveiling of the plaque identifying the Cineeco Forest.

The initiative was organised by Seia Municipal Council, in collaboration with CISE, and also has an environmental dimension. It is the festival’s response to the impact of visitors coming to Seia from various parts of the country and the world, through a real and verifiable contribution that remains in the local area and grows over time.

Planting is just the beginning. In future editions, the festival will return to Quinta da Nogueira to tend the woodland and watch it grow, until the day when CineEco can screen its films there, in the shade of the trees that have now been planted.

CineEco 2026 takes place in Seia until 17 October.