MEMORY OF THE AGRARIAN REFORM

EXHIBITION BY EPHEMERA – JOSÉ PACHECO PEREIRA ARCHIVE AND LIBRARY

"MEMORY OF AGRARIAN REFORM" BRINGS TO FICS A LIVING LOOK AT THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND

"We all have the right to have a life." This phrase, born from the hope and struggle of thousands of men and women, echoes again at the Santarém International Film Festival (FICS) with the exhibition "Memory of Agrarian Reform", open between 21st and 26th May, at the Sá da Bandeira Theatre.

Curated by Ephemera – Archive and Library of José Pacheco Pereira, the exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the first land occupations in Alentejo and Ribatejo, one of the social movements of the post-25th April period. It was during this time of change that the country witnessed the concrete attempt to transform production relations in the rural world, with new models of property ownership and organisation of agricultural work.

Posters, pamphlets, books, photographs, stickers, films and other original documents — many of them produced by the organisations and movements involved in the Agrarian Reform themselves — make up a collection that not only documents history but brings it back to life. Also present are materials of an academic, political, artistic and journalistic nature that, over the decades, have analysed and reflected on this "revolution within the revolution".

The exhibition also highlights the invisible role of many of the protagonists of this process: the landless peasants and women of the countryside, who rose up against poverty and inequality, daring to claim the right to exist with dignity.

The opening is scheduled for 21st May, at 5:30 pm, with the presence of Carlos Nuno and Fernando Oliveira. The closing ceremony, on 25th May, at 10:30 am, will feature an address by José Pacheco Pereira, whose dedication to the preservation of Portuguese historical memory is reflected in this work.

By integrating this exhibition into its programme, FICS reinforces its role as a space for the intersection of cinema, memory and citizenship.