The Book of Daniel is probably one of the most mysterious books in the Bible. The description of the events and prophecies include murder, treason, orgies, and torture. But it has also several very interesting and enigmatic prophecies that can be interpreted in many ways to be related to the present times. Social instability, global war, mass extermination, and many other events can possibly be interpreted in the prophetic writings of this young boy.
This visual music opera includes several events in the life of this prophet and his companions, as well as the three main prophecies that still may not have been fulfilled.
The 70th week described in the book is one of these prophecies, and it relates to a state of constant war, sacrilege and destruction, that will finally lead to a miraculous transformation of the world in a new space of peace and justice. This prophecy is then re-stated in the Book of Revelation, in the Bible.
As the description of the piece (a visual music opera) suggests, the operatic action is re-interpreted in a screen, using several computer-generated images and sounds, as well as pre-recorded vocal lines and dance movements. Some of the 8 scenes that constitute this piece are imagined representations of the events described in the book and some other scenes are symbolic. The texts used are direct transcriptions of the original texts in the book, sung in Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic.
The 70th Week was the result of a commission by the Ministry of Culture in Portugal. It also received the support of Manitou Fund (USA), mpmp – Património Musical Vivo (Portugal), University of Aveiro (Portugal) and University of California – Santa Barbara (USA). It was composed between March 2021 and September 2022.
Archivi: Films
SWEET DEATH
Sweet Death follows Dr.Philip Nitschke, euthanasia’s top advocate who loses his medical license and decides to try stand up comedy. Meanwhile, Kathy who after attending one of Dr. Nitschke’s workshops, travels to Tijuana to buy the means to die peacefully if she inherits her mother’s dementia.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
After failing to fix her broken life and bad habits with self-help books, a desperate woman returns to the New Age bookstore and demands a refund for her wasted life. The store manager however, offers her a more lucrative option. Accept death and while in purgatory, write a self-help book.
SANTINO
The return home of an Italian soldier 80 years after his death in a German prison camp in Poland. Found together with 59 other Italian prisoners by a group of researchers and returned to his family, who remember him and relive his life through memories and a emotional burial ceremony.
SABBIA E CENERE
Francesco, a young university student from Padua, accidentally discovers an old diary that belonged to his late father. Driven by curiosity and a sense of emptiness never filled, he sets off on a journey to Sardinia in search of a mysterious “treasure” mentioned in the diary.
RAMY
In the heart of a forest, a group of women carry a coffin on their shoulders, while a grieving woman follows them, wailing and crying out. Unmoved by her cries, the women proceed toward a cemetery, where…
R O O T E D – SHORT FILM DOCUMENTARY
A coming of age documentary about a girl who finds herself through grieving her late father.
PIT
An aging trumpeter who spent his life in the orchestra pit loses his job, his purpose, and himself. Tired of debt, humiliation, and silence, he longs for a second chance. One strange night at the cemetery changes everything — but can he climb out of the pit of fate, or will he repeat the same mistakes?
PERFECT STORM
During the perfect storm of the pandemic, the beauty of nature and the connectivity of humanity endures. On the wild west coast of Auckland ( New Zealand ) we follow one mans enforced isolation. Pacing into the unknown, wondering if those dear to him, will ever be seen again.
PEONY
In a Lebanese village, Omar (16) lives in the shadow of his parents’ tragic drowning in a migrant boat accident. Now the sole caretaker of his younger sister Douaa (5), who never leaves his side, Omar carries a deep fear of water. Yet he silently vows to protect her from the same fate, and to teach her to swim despite his trauma.
Between the rose fields where he works and the haunting memories of the sea, Omar struggles to turn water from a symbol of death into a place of safety. But when Douaa suddenly disappears near a lake, he believes she has drowned. In a moment where love outweighs fear, he dives in to save her, meeting the thin line where life and death, loss and courage, converge.
Produced in collaboration with the Lebanese Civil Defense, the film aims to raise awareness about water safety, the dangers of swimming in unmonitored areas, and the importance of early training in rescue and prevention, especially for children. A non-profit work, it delivers its human message through a poetic visual language blending realism and symbolism, telling a story of loss, love, and the choice between “swimming” or staying on the shore