After touring cinemas and educational institutions across the country, the award-winning films from the 31st edition of the Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival return to Seia for free public screenings at the Casa Municipal da Cultura Cineteatro until July. The 2026 edition of CineEco takes place from October 9 to 17.
Every year, and after each edition, CineEco takes environmental cinema to different audiences and territories, promoting ecological awareness, inclusion and access to culture, affirming the Festival’s commitment to environmental education and social change. This year was no exception. After extensions in cities such as Caldas da Rainha, Celorico da Beira, Coimbra, Faial, Vila Nova de Gaia, among others, CineEco returns “home” with the screening of the award-winning films from last year’s edition.
The Seia ECOS is a municipal initiative whose main objective is to provide not only the community of Seia, but also all those interested from neighboring municipalities, with a (re)viewing of 15 award-winning films from the 31st edition. This May and until July, the Cineteatro of the Casa Municipal da Cultura will once again be the epicenter of world environmental cinema, based on relevant themes: “Environmental Anthropology”; “Metaformoses and Identity”; “Territory and Spirituality”, “Memory, Activism and the Future”; “The Planet on Alert”; and “Water Cycles and Community”.
The highlight of the screening of the “Environment Grand Prix” was the documentary “The Town That Drove Away” (Poland), by the filmmaking duo Grzegorz Piekarski and Natalia Pietsch. The film is part of a set of ten works that premiered at the Seia festival, as part of the International Feature Film Competition, and follows the transition to the new town of the inhabitants of the ancestral Hasankeyf, submerged by the waters with the start-up of the hydroelectric mega-project in the territory. It can be (re)seen on July 14 at 21:30. Also the winner of the “Camacho Costa” Award, the disarming, urgent and poetic fiction film, “Enquanto o Céu Não Me Espera” (Brazil) and Katwe (Uganda/Sweden), winner of the Environmental Anthropology Prize, will return to the big screen at the Cineteatro de Seia on June 9 and May 12, respectively. A total of 15 films will be shown, and all screenings are free of charge, subject to capacity.
ECOS DE SEIA” PROGRAM“
May 12 | Session 1 – Environmental Anthropology: The Katwe Case (97 min)
# Katwe (97′) – Environmental Anthropology Prize.
May 19th | Session 2 – Metamorphoses and Identity (86 min)
# A Clawsome Tale (22′) – International Honorable Mention.
# Cão Sozinho (13′) – Portuguese Language Short Film Award.
# Martha (7′) – Animated Short Film Award.
# L’Ancien Monde (11′) – Fiction, Non-Fiction and Animation Award.
# Aurora (20′) – Portuguese Language Short Film Honorable Mention.
# O Último Pastor de Sabugueiro (6′) – Regional Panorama Award.
June 9 | Session 3 – Territory and Spirituality (80 min)
# Enquanto o Céu Não Me Espera (80′) – Camacho Costa Award.
June 16 | Session 4 – Memory, Activism and the Future (95 min)
# Não Haverá Mais História Sem Nós (75′) – Portuguese Language Feature Honorable Mention.
# Vânia e Valéria (20′) – Environmental Education Award.
July 14 | Session 5 – The Planet on Alert (82 min)
# The Town That Drove Away (70′) – Environment Grand Prize.
# Plastic Surgery (12′) – International Short/Medium Prize.
July 21 | Session 6 – Water Cycles and Community (63 min)
# Sukande Kasaká (30′) – Valor da Água Award.
# Headland (13′) – Valor da Água Honorable Mention.
# Porta-te Bem (20′) – Panorama Regional Honorable Mention.
