Paper short abstract:

This research analysed the representations conveyed by Portuguese films produced between 2008 and 2018 about intercultural relations. This data was crossed with the results of interviews with teachers from Portuguese secondary schools, involved in the coordination of the National Cinema Plan (PNC).

Paper long abstract:

History is a central ingredient in the construction and maintenance of the 'imagined community' of a nation. The past, not only the colonial past - but intimately connected to it - collective events considered significant (eg. the 'Discoveries') were selectively incorporated into the imagery of Portuguese society, helping to shape identities and visions of the world.

These 'historical charters' were used in an instrumental way, determining identity strategies, visions about migrants and, consequently, how the population relate to the 'Other'. Each culture elaborates a repertoire of interrelated symbols and representations that not only constrain the emergence of new representations but also contain agreed facts that can be explored politically. Manifestations of historical deeds can be found in the media, monuments, textbooks, films, and stories that people tell their children and grandchildren, shaping self and hetero-representations.

Current and past migratory flows, racial representations disseminated in the colonial period, and the manifestations of racism we observe today are closely related phenomena and require in-depth and interdisciplinary analysis.

This research analysed the representations conveyed by Portuguese films produced between 2008 and 2018 about intercultural relations. These data were crossed with the results of interviews with teachers from Portuguese secondary schools, involved in the coordination of the National Cinema Plan (PNC), listening to their opinions about the role of cinema in the educational process. Which approaches are advocated and implemented by teachers to teach or educate for citizenship, otherness and identity through cinema? How are teachers trained to cope with these issues using films?