Right at the beginning of the film, a text makes us look back to the times of religious battles in the Iberian Peninsula, evoking memories of the lovers that to this day cross these territories, doomed to endure an endless suffering. The film, inspired by Bela Mandil's legend, uses writings by Almeida Garrett and Luís Vaz de Camões recited by the characters ,and adopts a fabulist tone by imagining the lovers' reunion and simultaneously recording in a documentary style how the past can impact present day's witnesses - the fishermen that are affected by theses believes. What starts off as a traditional film, in the wake of historical reenactments (although this story adapts a fantasist and mystical legacy,) ends up deviating, albeit momentarily, to a a more experimental approach, either by the use of colour and filters or by the use of exogenous sounds. This mix of old and new, ancient and modern, expresses in an unique way the clash between old-age traditions and their coexistence with modern times. “Bela Mandil” debuted at Viennale Vienna International Film Festival and was included in IndieLisboa's official selection. (JA)