This is Justine Lemahieu’s encounter over several years with Lila and João, the two artists and activists from Fado Bicha band, whose songs embody and give voice to LGBTQIA+ stories and struggles. Backstage, words and glances intersect, questioning our relationship with appearances, gender norms, language, and sexuality.
Fado Bicha’s ethos doesn’t just involve revolutionising and experimenting with the traditional fado genre, there’s also a strong activist streak, making the songs especially poignant and urgent, and their role in the world of Portuguese music fearless and fundamental. Throughout the documentary, we discover more about what is important to the two people who make up the duo, but we also discover their sense of humour, the beauty of their relationship with music and all the other ways they find to express themselves — through, literally and otherwise, fashioning a role that could be considered subversive in the world of fado. Which makes their vision of music that much juicier and delicious. (Ana Cabral Martins)