Mal Viver

In a family-run hotel, by the Portuguese northern shore, lives a group of women from different generations of the same family, whose relationships with each other have grown poisoned by bitterness. They try to survive in the declining hotel, as the unexpected arrival of a granddaughter to this oppressive space stirs trouble, reviving latent hatred and piled-up resentments.

“The location of the film is fundamental in bringing the project’s intentions to fruition, as it could only happen somewhere from which no escape was possible. A place where the actresses are forced to be alone and with each other, even if they wish to run away. A place that the characters’ life depends on. The choice was a remote hotel by the Portuguese shore, which functions like a prison, since the characters can’t leave.

The film stems from the idea of how mothers determine their daughters’ disgrace, and how they, in turn, will determine their granddaughters’ disgrace. It’s a film about the anxiety of being a mother and how it undermines the ability for unconditional love. Three generations of women who fall victim to their mothers’ anxiety: a grandmother’s anxiety made her unable to be a mother to her daughter who was unable to be a mother to her granddaughter.

The actresses don’t transform, they adapt to the situation and the circumstances of the characters, without ceasing to be the same people. The screenplay was created over two years of discussions and rehearsals with the actresses, in order to get the truth from each of them. “

João Canijo