Filmmaker Joana Pontes takes a deep dive into the story of Portugal in her second feature. Visions of Empire explores the country’s contentious colonial past by unearthing thousands of photographs taken with the express purpose of telling and perhaps reimagining its story.

Portugal is struggling to face down its problematic past – specifically, its control over an empire it held for nearly 600 years. To find new perspectives on it, Pontes takes a journey into this history by uncovering thousands of photographs taken between the end of the 19th century and the Carnation Revolution of 1974. Guided by archivists and historians, Pontes’ thoughtful film is a quiet reckoning with the nature of colonialism – and with the tools used to preserve and promote it.

Visions of Empire is screening as part of Collective Mobilisation, a survey of work from contemporary Portuguese cinema co-presented by the ICA, TERRATREME and Uma Pedra no Sapato.