Portrait recorded in 16mm developed with caffenol at Casa do Xisto in the Summer of 2022
Hey there!
I'm Sofia Pires, an interdisciplinary visual artist and experimental filmmaker with a fondness for alternative processes and collaboration and extensive experience in cultural production and community programming.
My deep passion for filmmaking first developed while working in the projection booth of Cinemateca Portuguesa after completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Sound and Image at ESAD.CR. The experience aroused my curiosity and urged me to further explore film preservation practices and the materiality of the film medium by enrolling in a MA course in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image at the University of Amsterdam—where I began specializing in the manipulation of archival material to master the art of film preservation and projection.
Over the last five years, I have applied my background as an archivist to film production and programming, working with notable foundations, production houses, and cultural venues such as Wim Wenders Stiftung, O Som e a Fúria, and Brotéria. Additionally, inspired by my natural propensity for collaboration and mutual support, I've founded and run various independent projects like Cineclube Campo Aberto (currently on its 3rd edition, themed “The Right To Roam”) and Cine à Roda with the goal to diversify the local scene and provide opportunities for cultural exchange and community building.
My artwork has been presented in venues in Lisbon such as Livraria Tigre de Papel; Associação Goela; Largo Residências; Cosmos, A Ilha, XYZ Books, amongst others. I'm one of the founding members of El Warcha Lisboa, a non-profit that promotes hands-on education and creative training for socially vulnerable groups, and Laboratório da Cave, an artist-run film lab devoted to analog filmmaking practices. I'm also a member of MUTIM - Mulheres Trabalhadoras das Imagens em Movimento and I contribute regularly to the Sustainable Darkroom's publications.
Each and every one of my professional endeavors is driven by a perennial need to explore alternative processes and methods of collaboration while feeding my own artistic interests. My research mainly revolves around memory, belief, and storytelling devices, and my practice is typically presented in the form of films, publications, and installations.
film projection / film programming and selecting / archival and visual research / cultural production / workshop facilitation / live cinema / other creative collaborations related to cinema, writing, independent publishing, and community-oriented projects.
☞ Here you can leaf through some press written about me and/or any of my projects and some other texts written by me and/or in co-authorship with fellow artists, thinkers, and, mostly, friends.
I now live in Lisbon but I'm open to relocation if the right opportunity arises. My current time zone is WET / GMT. Full CV and recommendations are available upon request: sofiasspires [at] gmail [dot] com
This website as well as my life's work are permanently under construction.
This website was built by me on WordPress with Lay Theme, created and maintained by 100k Studio GmbH, and it is hosted on DreamHost.
Credits for images, photographs, and texts are duly identified on each project's page.
Portrait recorded at Casa do Xisto in 2022
Hey there!
I'm Sofia Pires, an interdisciplinary visual artist and experimental filmmaker with a fondness for alternative processes and collaboration and extensive experience in cultural production and community programming.
My deep passion for filmmaking first developed while working in the projection booth of Cinemateca Portuguesa after completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Sound and Image at ESAD.CR. The experience aroused my curiosity and urged me to further explore film preservation practices and the materiality of the film medium by enrolling in a MA course in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image at the University of Amsterdam—where I began specializing in the manipulation of archival material to master the art of film preservation and projection.
Over the last five years, I have applied my background as an archivist to film production and programming, working with notable foundations, production houses, and cultural venues such as Wim Wenders Stiftung, O Som e a Fúria, and Brotéria. Additionally, inspired by my natural propensity for collaboration and mutual support, I've founded and run various independent projects like Cineclube Campo Aberto (currently on its 3rd edition, themed “The Right To Roam”) and Cine à Roda with the goal to diversify the local scene and provide opportunities for cultural exchange and community building.
My artwork has been presented in venues in Lisbon such as Livraria Tigre de Papel; Associação Goela; Largo Residências; Cosmos, A Ilha, XYZ Books, amongst others. I'm one of the founding members of El Warcha Lisboa, a non-profit that promotes hands-on education and creative training for socially vulnerable groups, and Laboratório da Cave, an artist-run film lab devoted to analog filmmaking practices. I'm also a member of MUTIM - Mulheres Trabalhadoras das Imagens em Movimento and I contribute regularly to the Sustainable Darkroom's publications.
Each and every one of my professional endeavors is driven by a perennial need to explore alternative processes and methods of collaboration while feeding my own artistic interests. My research mainly revolves around memory, belief, and storytelling devices, and my practice is typically presented in the form of films, publications, and installations.
film projection / film programming and selecting / archival and visual research / cultural production / workshop facilitation / live cinema / other creative collaborations related to cinema, writing, independent publishing, and community-oriented projects.