Lá em Baixo (Over There) is a film about the Portuguese folk groups in France—the Ranchos Folclóricos that play a vital role in the lives of Portuguese immigrants, keeping traditions alive across generations. Despite their importance, these groups remain largely misunderstood and misrepresented, often caught between stereotypes and invisibility—both in France and in Portugal.

Through the daily life of three folk groups, the film unfolds as a conversation between folklore, family, identity, and memory—revealing the people who dedicate themselves to this tradition and the ways it shapes their sense of belonging.

As a Portuguese artist and documentary filmmaker living in France for over four years, I was drawn to these groups from the moment I arrived. Their deep connection to tradition—despite distance, time, and cultural shifts—resonated with my own artistic and personal questions about identity and displacement. In 2017, this interest led me to begin a Ph.D. at Université Paris Nanterre, where I explore Portuguese folklore in migration through a practice-based research (recherche-création) approach.

This film is the result of a participatory process, shaped by the time spent within these cultural groups, by the stories shared, and by the relationships built throughout the filming. It was important for me that Lá em Baixo would not only document these groups from the outside but emerge from within their world—a film created in dialogue with those who keep these traditions alive.

Lá em Baixo is not only my first feature-length film but also a central part of my research-creation PhD—where documentary filmmaking serves as both a method of investigation and a mode of artistic expression. As part of this research, I created a 2h15 version of the film, which forms the core of my thesis and explores the process of translating lived experience into cinematic language. In 2024, I re-edited the film into a 1h30 version for wider screenings, making the story more accessible to a general audience while preserving its essence.

Throughout 2019, I followed these groups from rehearsals to national and international festivals, from staged performances to informal moments behind the scenes—in kitchens, dressing rooms, and homes, where the essence of these traditions is truly lived. I conducted interviews with members of all ages, documenting their voices and perspectives in spaces that felt natural and intimate.

The title of the film comes from the familiar expression “lá em baixo” (literally “down there”), which the Portuguese cultural groups in France often use to refer to Portugal. It carries a duality of distance and closeness—a phrase that encapsulates the complex relationship these immigrants have with their homeland, caught between nostalgia and adaptation.

Filming alone has been at the core of my practice since my first short film in 2015. Holding a small camera allows me to blend into the environment, becoming almost invisible, capturing moments that would otherwise remain unseen. My prolonged presence within the groups created space for unrehearsed, deeply human moments, offering an intimacy that goes beyond formal interviews.

As a self-financed independent project, Lá em Baixo was made possible through the generosity of these cultural groups. The members welcomed me into their world, offering me lifts, meals, and a deep sense of connection—from the Parisian region to Lille, and even to the Minho region of Portugal, where I met an artisan who still hand-weaves the traditional fabrics used to make their costumes.

This film is for them. It is for the Portuguese cultural groups in France, which have been present for more than a century, and for Portuguese folklore networks across the world. The people in these groups are deeply passionate about what they do, yet they remain largely on the margins of migration and cultural history, often portrayed by outsiders. By combining documentary practice and research, Lá em Baixo offers a rare space where they can share their own voices, their stories, and their dedication to keeping their traditions alive.
finding resonance in gestures that outlive geography.