Carlos Melim is a young Portuguese filmmaker who debuted "from me." A short film that already won a number of awards and has even been selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Focusing on the inner crowned pictures and landscapes that take us to the solitude and introspection. His second film work, "complete remission" is coming soon to cinemas.

Would you have written "from me" if you were not Madeiran? If you were not islander?
Carlos Melim: Madeira was the main "scenario" main because it was where I was born, where I have my roots, my family, my first love ... The film is about loneliness and pain, and some of that sense of loss had much to do with the fact that I left Madeira and being away from what I knew (my comfort zone). Most of the film was shot on the island because it was "back home" where I returned to rediscover me ... But if I born elsewhere and had left that place and my family to follow a dream, would have written in it the same, the scenario would be another. I think the insular nature of Madeira reinforces the film's emotional charge. The fact that we isolated reinforces the dramatic charge ...

It is a letter of farewell or love?
CM: It's a bit of both. .. The film can be a farewell letter if it feel that I die in the end ... or it may be a love letter ... or a message of life ... depends on how each one feels the film. For me it was a therapy. It was a way of finding me. It was necessary to be sad and feel yourself to move forward, and that is the message that liked to stay in the film. We all have a stage in life when we think about giving up, but it is in us that is the strength to continue, and not in others.

It was difficult to expose this way your feelings? It's roughly a catharsis?
CM: I've never seen the "me" as an exhibition. I was doing the movie for me. There are people who write letters, I make movies ... Only when I showed a friend and she encouraged me to disclose it, is that I first thought to share it with the general public. If the movie helped a person who is thinking of giving up on life, then all the sessions I attended embarrassed, stuck in a chair, have paid off!

What do you feel when your watch again this first film? Was there anything you would like to change or improve? Why?
CM: Today I cannot feel what I felt at the time, but did not change anything. I like more and more of the film. The most important is that it is genuine, and it was what I felt at the time. I find it to be genuine that can touch people.

Complete remission is another intimate short film?
CM: The "Complete Remission" is fiction. Anyway, I think that says a lot to me as a filmmaker ... It's about the topics I like to approach, people, society, emotions ... relations.

2015 is the International Year of light according to the organization of the United Nations (UN).

At a time when most industrialized countries are making efforts to create alternative energy sources more environmentally friendly, the UN decided to dedicate this year to the light. It is a global initiative that aims to raise awareness among citizens around the globe to its importance and optical technologies in society. To celebrate the light in its various forms, are already being prepared various activities aimed at audiences of all ages and different cultural levels.

With the advent of electricity in the twentieth century, many people have forgotten the luxury that means you can access daily to this energy form. At the same time, in developing countries, there are millions of people who have no access to electricity and is also the problem that the UN wants to emphasize with the anniversary.

The International Year of Light still coincides with several important milestones in the physical study of light's field, as the work on optical Ibn Al-Haytham in 1015; the wave behavior of light, proposed by Fresnel in 1815; the electromagnetic theory of light, proposed by Maxwell in 1865; Einstein's work on a photoelectric effect (1905) and on the link between light and cosmology in the context of general relativity (1915); the discovery of the cosmic microwave background in microwave by Penzias and Wilson in 1965, and the works of Charles Kao (1965) on the use of fiber optics in telecommunications.

Pedro Jóia has a vast experience as a performer and composer of the classical guitar and has played with big names in Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian music. In 2001 released an album entitled "Variations on Carlos Paredes" and six years later released his last album, "waiting for Armandinho" two musical projects drawn about the two biggest names of the Portuguese guitar of the twentieth century.

His first discographic projects based on the Flemish. What does this musical style influences your career as a musician?
Peter Jewel: I started studying classical guitar as a kid, from seven until the age of fifteen, I learned the technique and discovered that stage the Flemish music through a Paco de Lucia disk. I realized that guitar had a different dimension, I began to fall in love, to interest me and went to Spain to study this musical style, it was part of my training as a guitarist, is a very strong language to me.

But it is very different from the Portuguese guitar?
PJ: It's completely different. Absolutely. What happens is that over the years tried to merge between these two languages. Transporting the fate for my guitar which itself was influenced by Flemish.

It was a mixture showed the disk dedicated to Armandinho.
PJ: Actually made two thematic albums on the Portuguese guitar, one on Carlos Paredes called "variations" in 2001 and another on the Armandinho.

Let's talk about this record work, why tackle the work of Carlos Paredes?
PJ: Firstly because it was one of the great guitarists of the second half of the twentieth century. Carlos Paredes had the opportunity to know him personally, I saw him up more or less well, talked and even made a first part of one of his concerts. He was a man who admired. Later, I approached another master, the first half of the twentieth century, the Armandinho, who obviously did not know him because he was an older guitarist and died in 1945, but let's say it was the other side that lacked the Portuguese guitar.

Are just some of the national designs for the festivities ahead.

Christmas festivities and the end-of-year parties are perfect excuses for the gala dresses, whether short, cocktail, or long, no matter the length or format, what really matters is to show a more careful toilette and nothing is more appropriate at this time of one of my favorite colors, as you are already tired of knowing, red. I present two proposals very different from fashion designer Diogo Miranda, from his autumn-winter collection 2014, that are good examples for any of the occasions to come, for a Christmas dinner with the family, or a party for the end of the year with friends, ranging from the classic to the more daring, but both very tasteful and elegant.

Katty Xiomara, is another of Portuguese designers that usually presents her proposals at Portugal Fashion and I highlighted this time a long silk dress inspired by the East and another more Western, which includes the overlap of two pieces, a long dress envelope in lace and a red body. It is from eight to eighty, one is more restrained and the other is more daring, the hard thing is to choose, because any of these dresses is charming and suitable for these festive occasions.

Ended the 3rd edition of Madeira Micro Film Festival which granted the award for the best film to "Rocks In My Pockets" by Signe Baumane. But the news does not end there, for the next year will be more and better films.

The Micro Film Festival has grow in terms of public and movies to contest?
Nuno Barcelos: This is the 3rd edition and we believed that we have managed to iron out some edges not only in programming, as in the production and the guests that we bring, given that it is a new project in an almost improbable space, which is a festival of contemporary and experimental cinema, in a village as picturesque as the Ponta do Sol, in Madeira. This year we again have six films in the competition and we can say with great pride, due to a partnership, there was a 30% increase of foreign visitors who come specifically for the festival and still we continued with our short films section in the Sun movie, one of the oldest remaining in Portugal.

What can you stand out from the films that were shown and are not in competition?
NB: I can highlight the film "follows it" directed by David Robert Mitchell, who received critical acclaims worldwide, is considered, in fact, one of the great tales of terror this year and "The Duke of Burgundy" undoubtedly produced by Andrew Starke, one of the great British producers, although is a film recent that reaping many awards. Our programming appeals a little to the fantastic, but not along these lines, we still have a test section, which includes a visit from students of the University of Berlin who will develop an audio project.

There is a foreign public and increase projection of the festival internationally, but at local and national level?
NB: I think it has been gradual, of course in terms of the local community we have not this growth, because we understand that it is an experimental area to the cinema level, eventually we like to have more local viewers. I think it is a "work in progress" there is also another aspect to consider, being an international exhibition subtitles are in English and all the people who come here have to understand that language, but we felt next year there will be a significant growth on a local basis. At the national level is a job that we have to develop for the future, our international partnership that is based in Germany helps us in terms of spectators in a community located in the center of Europe, strangely have a large Norwegian and Irish base. Nationally and localy there is still much to do, but it is not lack of promotion on our part, we fell like in all, specially in Madeira, we have to take things slowly so people accustomed and recognized this project.

The programming has various foreign films, but not many Portuguese features.
NB: Unfortunately it is true, we have a short film that is not only Portuguese, as is regional, Carlos Melim that has already been presented at the Cannes film festival. This year we have no Portuguese film, but in this third festival we are still trying to figure out what works more and better and this time the only curator is Michael Rosen. For the year to come we are planning to include other people in these repertoire, at national level, to also contribute with ideas for the festival and to create parallel sections of short films to films in competition, that may appear curated by a professional of the national film industry and it will help to be able to bring not only Portuguese films but also from Latin America. I believe it has not been a lack of research, but are edges that we thought we will filing for years to come.

Portugal remains one of the countries with better environmental policies, among the 58 most industrialized nations of the world, according to the 10th assessment of "climate change performance index" (CCPI), an index that analyzes the behavior of nations over 90% of carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy production.

According to the environmental organization Quercus, who helped gather data on Portugal in the 10th year of the ACCPI, our country still retains the same position relative to last year because improved in several indicators, especially as regards the level of emissions, but worsened in emissions associated with residential, buildings and the production of electricity and renewable energy.
The German Watch, one of the organizations responsible for the study, explains that Portugal was ranked in 7th place, which corresponds to a 'Good', because once again the first three places were not attributed to any nation, and so we occupy, symbolically, the 4th position, behind Denmark, Sweden and the UK, which respectively correspond to the first, second and third place on the list. The neighbor Spain, on the other hand, continues in a downward tendency according to this new edition of the index. Fell even further in the rankings this year in all eight positions. Negative results that the scientists responsible for the content attribute to the retroactive political measures that have ruined the dynamics of the renewable energy sector and as a result, there was a sharp drop of 37 places in this category. Moreover, it is a country that opposes progressive measures at international level.

The CCPI 2015, as in previous years studies, the authors point out that "although there is a sign of general reduction in CO2 emissions, which gives hope for a carbon dioxide-free future, no country has the necessary performance for reach the 'very good' level of index ".

https://germanwatch.org/en/download/10407.pdf

A birthday was the motto for the reminiscences of a friendship.

The event of the twenty-first anniversary of Quinta do Revoredo, in Santa Cruz, has recently been marked with a gathering whose motto was to remind the founding of the first House of Culture in the archipelago of Madeira, unique in its kind, in which was addressed the inherent challenges and difficulties of a time of public financial constraints, external and internal bickering, institutionally and other against the purchase of a property exclusively dedicated to culture, an aberration as many thought and was also the recovery of memories about that beautiful place facing the sea.

All that talk turned out to have the power to make submerge my own affections, I reminded the girl from the farm, as I dubbed, which I envisioned daily in the summer holidays, from the Palmeiras Beach pontoon getting out by one of the access doors towards the pebble to dive in the blue waters of the sea. I imagined how wonderful it would live in that mysterious house held onto the rocks, as if daring the ocean forces, surrounded by magical dragon trees and other old trees where they could live a thousand and one adventures. Until one day fate would introduce me to this girl, coming from the distant South Africa and that this meeting was born a friendship and although she did not live any more in the Quinta do Revoredo we decided in the night of end-of-year, me, her and my brother to make a last visit to what was only her home.

Isa Iolanda is one of the new names of the Cape Verdian music, with a recent journey influenced by the Green Cape voices, as is visible in her first album, "Kriola enkantu" but also by American music, which will part of her new musical project.

In this alignment of your last album, "Kriola Enkantu" What led you to write this repertoire?
Isa Iolanda: What prompted me to write was the desire to honor the archipelago and including the island of Santa Luzia is uninhabited, plus the diaspora, because each song has a Green Cape tradition. We are a young country with 39 years of independence and wanted to honor all that has been achieve, because we have no natural resources but have immense in human terms. Another objective was also to exalt our culture I considered to be our pertussis.

The choice of the songs did not happen by chance, you choosed a range of composers of the islands.
II: Yes, for example, on the island of Maio we called to participate in Tibau Tavares, representing the island of Fogo I talked to a good friend of mine, we were colleagues until the school in St. Nicholas, Paulinho Vieira. I tried to make each island had this representation of a composer or musician in order to get that authenticity.

And why this record work now at this point in your career?
II: I believe that in addition to being artists, we like to be on stage, share our music, our experience, our energy and our musical spirit, there is also the need of the passport duty, you've something concrete to show people, to be able to hear your music, enjoy, draw conclusions and to learn. Give more knowledge about your work as a musician, or artist, all this is fundamental when recording an album.

This work which adds in relation to your previous projects? Have you notice an evolution in vocal terms or not?
II: I notice that yes, I can say I did two special appearences in two albums of the Embassy in France and in this new album, "Kriola enkantu" clearly we can see the process of evolution and vocal maturity, now that I'm studying vocal improvement in New York. I can now have a clearer perception of what is sing by instinct and what is to do it with technique, awareness of what you can get out of your voice and expand this potential.

These are some trends that can inspire this autumn-winter.

This winter season is the ideal time for inspiration in trends coming from Africa, although that do stand out in darker skins, also look good in the other types of skins. Otherwise check it out, one of them is the lady style, which fuses the more classic look with a modern twist, with pieces ranging from the tapered, or goblet skirts, medium cut, enhancing the waist and hips, with colorful hosier where we even can be mixed with denims and wool.

The prints can be of all kinds, in this respect we welcomed the bold coordinates of African women, they mix several types of graphics and even animal prints without any embarrassment and with some wonderfully surprising results. Are bets on colors that you can also adapt to your style, always, in contrast with a smoother component, whether in clothing, accessories or shoes. For example, a velvet pant with a graphic sweater. Everything is possible, it is important also to escape a bit from the more neutral shades that characterize our closets in the winter.

Clara Andermatt is a dancer, choreographer and one of the pioneers of the new Portuguese dance move. Clara Adermatt Cultural Association is the face of this particularly unique artistic identity of the national and international art scene, whose concern is primarily focused on development of artistic and educational activities and provides logistical and administrative support to some groups with which it shares artistic affinities.

The body is just a vehicle for the dance or is it more than that?
Clara Adermatt: Of course it is something else. The body is a shell of the soul, mind, and thought. It is material that carries a number of ingredients which are emotions that are part of the personality of each. It is a case with which we must be careful because it is something that exists and gives form.

How does a choreographer perceive the various aspects of these so different bodies? Not only is the challenge for people with disabilities, but also seniors and was reminding me of the show "bigger".
CA: Even bodies of other cultures, younger people, older, with limitations and physical characteristics that give substance to these personal features, individual and inside of ourselves. When I look at the bodies of people who do not have training in dance, or a fantastic training in classical dimension, which has no contemporary component and vice versa I enjoy working with them, ie they all have idiosyncrasies, ways to move, to be, that inspire me and give creative and imaginative material. I really like this encounter with these variations in the background, because we are all different and I appreciate to discover these nuances and the individuality of each to create.

So what is the thread to create a choreography? What are these nuances that must be considered for a specific group of dancers?
CA: It depends a lot, there is a difference in approach and think there's a freedom at the same time. I search and try to conquer myself, to have an opening, it can be contaminating and that these differences can invade the creation and the created object. There are many things we want to say, the world is so vast, complex, and at the same time is a brutal show that the greater the difference, the greater the wealth. I like to let myself be invaded by all.