Browse films

Maria Vitória

Mário Patrocínio
Portugal, 2025, 113 min.

In Portuguese with English subtitles.
This film is family friendly.

AIFF Award Winner:
Best Foreign Feature

Maria Vitória lives in a remote village in the Portuguese mountains and plays football in the local boys' youth team. Determined to go pro, she spends all her free time training with her father, Nacho. Their routine is shaken by the sudden return of Bruno, her older brother, who left many years ago after a tragic fire took their mother’s life. As she prepares for the most important match of her life, Maria begins to question her father’s authority and the weight that governs her existence. Little by little, she seeks a way to break free.

Director's Statement

Mário Patrocínio (1979) is a Portuguese director and producer known for award-winning documentaries and now making his fiction feature debut. Born in Lisbon, his artistic vision began to take shape in Japan, where he lived for two years as a child and attended a Japanese school. This early experience abroad shaped his outlook as a filmmaker. A citizen of the world, he has lived and filmed across continents, from Rio de Janeiro to Angola, from Paris to Los Angeles and back to Lisbon. His work reflects curiosity about people and cultures, seeking stories that reveal humanity beyond borders and time.

Category: Drama, Feature, Award Winner.
Themes: Family, Sports, World Cinema.

More in Drama

  • Made in America

    Made in America

    Maritza Cruz
    United States, 2025, 11 min.

    Xiomara and Ana, two Central American migrant teens, work the late-night shift at a garment factory. When Ana goes missing after staying for an extra shift,... more ›

  • Wind Across the Room

    Wind Across the Room

    Jiaxi Shen
    China, 2025, 13 min.

    On an ordinary afternoon, long-simmering tension with her single father finally erupts. The teenage girl sets off for the home of her mother, whom she... more ›

  • Dive

    Dive

    Amy-Joyce Hastings
    Ireland, 2025, 8 min.

    At a family gathering on the Irish coast, Jess slips away to an iconic diving tower high above the Atlantic. As the sea churns below, she confronts the weight... more ›