A Tavola De Rocha / Around Rocha’s Table, directed by Samuel Barbosa, is a documentary about the analysis of many cinematic works of late Portuguese filmmaker Paulo Rocha. Paulo Rocha’s body of work has been the cornerstone of Portuguese cinema, often recognized by the underground scene. This is Samuel Barbosa’s debut film in the Locarno Film Festival.
Samuel Barbosa had a conversation with Paulo Rocha prior to his passing that his intention of this documentary was to “shine a light and to launch a reflection on the construction of the cinematographic work of Paulo Rocha. It should be noted that, Paulo Rocha received his first award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1964 for ‘Best First Work’ (Silver Sail) in ‘The Green Years’. Today, we get to see a documentary about Paulo Rocha’s body of work over the years.
In the documentary, A Tavola De Rocha / Around Rocha’s Table, many of Rocha’s professional colleagues and personal relationships provide testimonies of his unique perspective on life and how he applies it into his film work. Rocha always wanted to study film and be a filmmaker. His father supported the idea but has advised Rocha to finish a law degree as a fallback, though he went against his father’s wishes and struggled until he was able to study film in Paris. A deep dive analysis of Rocha’s previously released films helps break down Rocha’s thought process for each scene he directed.
He has been considered a contemporary artist who loves to experiment in cinematography, rather than rehashing what has already been done. Many of the films shot started off from the feelings Rocha was holding onto and used his filmmaking as his outlet to express them. For example, ‘A Raiz do Coração / The Heart’s Root (2000)’, Rocha was said to have been rooted with bitterness towards his anger of the powers that be that have been slandering him and his art form. What makes it interesting is that the film became popular because it did not necessarily hinder his unique creative process that targeted those that slandered him, rather it strengthened his ability to reach his bitterness to the fullest potential to bring his film to life.
If one were to watch Rocha’s films today, one would have to watch this documentary to better understand how his ideas were formed at that point in time. One of his colleagues testified that you must understand the impact of the films at a cinematographic and cultural level when it was released during a dictatorship. Rocha’s films were based on his experience and knowledge of how families and relationships were like during his time and sets out a different lens to go beyond what is considered normalized for the society. Rocha wanted to always break the boundaries of life and cinematography to innovate and change the standard practices of filmmaking. It’s his style of filmmaking that resonates with viewers that sets him apart.
According to Samuel Barbosa, the initial intent of this documentary was to follow a conversation between himself and Paulo Rocha, during his time of filming ‘If I Was a Thief…I’d Steal’. This film was completed and edited by Rocha, but he wanted to film additional five-minute scenes each year. This project, along with this documentary, came to a stall when Rocha’s health issues caught up to him, which ultimately shifted the original format to reflect on Rocha’s past works.
Barbosa indicated that he is a close friend of Rocha and has worked with him on his previous films as his assistant prior to the documentary, which enabled him to have a rooted experience in knowing Rocha’s style of filmmaking. In Barbosa’s perspective, Rocha likes to incorporate other art forms including painting, sculpture, literature, and music as part of his revolutionary cinematography. What is also a unique character of Paulo Rocha is that he lived in Japan for many years, speaks Japanese fluently, and is well immersed in the Japanese culture, as testified by Junko Ota.
A Tavola De Rocha / Around Rocha’s Table is a celebration of Paulo Rocha and his films, and even more special knowing one of his first awards came from the same Locarno Film Festival back in 1964, and now is screening this documentary today. Those who have followed the Locarno Film Festival and the Portuguese film community would no doubt recognize Paulo Rocha’s name and would appreciate the amount of research, testimonials, and praise of this cinematographer for stepping out of the boundaries and creating spectacular films, which is now brought again to the public, in hopes that his films are restored and seen again in todays generation.