biography
Alexandre Alagôa (1994) is an experimental filmmaker and electronic music producer working between Lisbon and Luxembourg.
Graduated in Multimedia Arts (2015), Master in Audiovisuals (2018) and Post Graduated in Sound Art (2019) from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. From 2017 to 2018, he works at the Multimedia Art Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon as a Technician and Assistant, supporting the Audiovisual students in the development and presentation of film, video and installations.
Invited lecturer for Cultural and Educational Portuguese Institutions such as Atelier de Lisboa (Alvalade, Lisbon) and CineReactor (S. Sebastião, Lisbon), giving speeches on Experimental Film, mostly focused on the Structural Film approach. Also collaborated as a video and sound technician for portuguese Cultural Associations such as Associação Gandaia (Costa da Caparica, Portugal) and Gerador (Lisbon, Portugal).
In 2020 launches a new project entitled turva, an audiovisual label focused on the production and publishing of experimental art, along with portuguese musician and sound artist Luís Neto.
Alagôa’s films and audiovisual pieces have been present in international festivals and exhibitions, such as IndieLisboa (Lisbon, 2023) Go Short (The Netherlands, 2022), Videoformes (France, 2022), Monstra (Portugal, 2022), Vienna Shorts (Austria, 2021), Festival Tous Courts (France, 2021), Cairo Video Fest (Egypt, 2021), Flatpack (UK, 2021), Split Video Art Festival (Croatia, 2021), Strangloscope (Brazil, 2021), Art Madrid (Spain, 2020), InShadow: Lisbon Screendance Festival (Lisbon, 2018); Festival Ecrã (Brazil, 2018); Festival Video Art Miden (Greece, 2018); Richterfest (Russia, 2017); IVAHM (Spain, 2017); Festival Reverso 02 (Lisbon, 2016); I stood up and... never sat down again (Plataforma Revólver, Lisbon, 2016).
Alexandre Alagôa (1994) is an experimental filmmaker and electronic music producer working between Lisbon and Luxembourg.
Graduated in Multimedia Arts (2015), Master in Audiovisuals (2018) and Post Graduated in Sound Art (2019) from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. From 2017 to 2018, he works at the Multimedia Art Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon as a Technician and Assistant, supporting the Audiovisual students in the development and presentation of film, video and installations.
Invited lecturer for Cultural and Educational Portuguese Institutions such as Atelier de Lisboa (Alvalade, Lisbon) and CineReactor (S. Sebastião, Lisbon), giving speeches on Experimental Film, mostly focused on the Structural Film approach. Also collaborated as a video and sound technician for portuguese Cultural Associations such as Associação Gandaia (Costa da Caparica, Portugal) and Gerador (Lisbon, Portugal).
In 2020 launches a new project entitled turva, an audiovisual label focused on the production and publishing of experimental art, along with portuguese musician and sound artist Luís Neto.
Alagôa’s films and audiovisual pieces have been present in international festivals and exhibitions, such as IndieLisboa (Lisbon, 2023) Go Short (The Netherlands, 2022), Videoformes (France, 2022), Monstra (Portugal, 2022), Vienna Shorts (Austria, 2021), Festival Tous Courts (France, 2021), Cairo Video Fest (Egypt, 2021), Flatpack (UK, 2021), Split Video Art Festival (Croatia, 2021), Strangloscope (Brazil, 2021), Art Madrid (Spain, 2020), InShadow: Lisbon Screendance Festival (Lisbon, 2018); Festival Ecrã (Brazil, 2018); Festival Video Art Miden (Greece, 2018); Richterfest (Russia, 2017); IVAHM (Spain, 2017); Festival Reverso 02 (Lisbon, 2016); I stood up and... never sat down again (Plataforma Revólver, Lisbon, 2016).
education
2019, Post-Graduation in Sound Art, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2019, Masters Degree in Experimental Film & Audiovisuals, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2019, Graduation in Multimedia Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
contacts
︎ alagoa_alex@hotmail.com [personal]
︎ turva.label@gmail.com [producer/bookings]
links
︎ alexandrealagoa
︎ somdamontanha
︎ youtube.com/alagoa
︎ imdb.com/alagoa
︎ turva__
︎ turvalabel
︎ turva.pt
︎ turva.bandcamp.com
2019, Post-Graduation in Sound Art, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2019, Masters Degree in Experimental Film & Audiovisuals, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2019, Graduation in Multimedia Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
contacts
︎ alagoa_alex@hotmail.com [personal]
︎ turva.label@gmail.com [producer/bookings]
links
︎ alexandrealagoa
︎ somdamontanha
︎ youtube.com/alagoa
︎ imdb.com/alagoa
︎ turva__
︎ turvalabel
︎ turva.pt
︎ turva.bandcamp.com
statement
Alagôa’s film and video work explores the mechanical, material and durational qualities of the audiovisual medium, and its immediate physical and kinetic impact on the viewer’s nervous system, often shattering the senses of vision and hearing into new sensible and obscure realms. Following a continuous research on conceptual art, the fluxus movement, and the structrural filmmaking approach, along with a constant curiosity on scientific issues on perception and psychology, Alagôa’s audiovisual pieces unfold into layered experiences often evoking optical illusions (such as the waterfall effect), studies on the physiology of the eye (such as phosphenes, after-images, purkinje trees and other entoptic phenomena) and synaesthetic sensations in order to destabilize, breakdown and (re)organize perceptual experience to its core elements, often inducing bodily and mental dispositions, at the same time leading the viewer to an awareness of their act of seeing and hearing.
In parallel, Alagôa’s music work invokes the early stages of acousmatic and concrete music only to find hidden aural qualities in everyday life moments. Following a strong influence from the idea of “reduced listening” by Pierre Schaeffer,Alagôa crafts both cinematic landscapes and humorous experimental compositions by mixing recordings of mundane daily routines with digital instruments, sample players and heavy processes of granular synthesis.
Alagôa’s film and video work explores the mechanical, material and durational qualities of the audiovisual medium, and its immediate physical and kinetic impact on the viewer’s nervous system, often shattering the senses of vision and hearing into new sensible and obscure realms. Following a continuous research on conceptual art, the fluxus movement, and the structrural filmmaking approach, along with a constant curiosity on scientific issues on perception and psychology, Alagôa’s audiovisual pieces unfold into layered experiences often evoking optical illusions (such as the waterfall effect), studies on the physiology of the eye (such as phosphenes, after-images, purkinje trees and other entoptic phenomena) and synaesthetic sensations in order to destabilize, breakdown and (re)organize perceptual experience to its core elements, often inducing bodily and mental dispositions, at the same time leading the viewer to an awareness of their act of seeing and hearing.
In parallel, Alagôa’s music work invokes the early stages of acousmatic and concrete music only to find hidden aural qualities in everyday life moments. Following a strong influence from the idea of “reduced listening” by Pierre Schaeffer,Alagôa crafts both cinematic landscapes and humorous experimental compositions by mixing recordings of mundane daily routines with digital instruments, sample players and heavy processes of granular synthesis.
festivals & exhibitions
2023, Festival Tous Courts, Aix-en-Provence, France
2023, Light Matter, Alfred University, New York, USA
2023, Mostra Strangloscope, Itajaí, Brazil
2023, Vistacurta, Viseu, Portugal
2023, Ibrida Film Festival, Forlì, Italy
2023, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Bogotá, Colombia
2023, Bucharest Short Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania
2023, Light Matter, Kino Palais, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2023, Camara Escura, House of Haeg, Lisbon, Portugal
2023, Mientrastanto Cine, Facutad de Artes de Montevideo, Uruguay
2023, IndieLisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
2023, Light Matter, Cinemateca del Ecuador
2022, La Parceria, Madrid, Spain
2022, Ateneu del Raval, Barcelona, Spain
2022, Light Matter Film Festival, Alfred University, New York, USA
2022, Monstra à Solta, Centro de Artes e Espectáculo de Portalegre, Portugal
2022, Prémios / Awards, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2022, International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Cyprus
2022, Animatou, Genève, Switzerland
2022, Ibrida Festival, Forli, Italy
2022, Festival International du Film de Nancy, France
2022, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Colombia
2022, Festival Ecrã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2022, What You See Is What You Get, Den Haag, The Netherlands
2022, Pan-Cinema Experimental, Curitiba’s Cinematheque, Brasil
2022, Monstra à Solta, Maus Hábitos, Porto, Portugal
2022, Short Waves, Poznán, Poland
2022, Vienna Shorts, Vienna, Austria
2022, Experimental Film East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
2022, Video Art Projects, Thessaloniki, Greece
2022, Festival Oodaaq, Rennes, France
2022, Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Germany
2022, S/ Título: Quer Curtas Ou Não, Corrente, Lisbon, Portugal
2022, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Milwaukee, USA
2022, Go Short, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2022, Monstra, Lisboa, Portugal
2022, Videoformes, Clermont-Ferrand, France
2021, Festival Tous Courts, Aix-en-Provence, France
2021, Transient Visions, Spool Contemporary, Johnson City, NY, USA
2021, Cairo Video Festival, Egypt
2021, Over the Real, Lucca, Italy
2021, La Villa en Court 2, Villa Rohannec’h, Saint Brieuc, France
2021, Concept, CICA Museum, Korea
2021, This Is Where We Are Right Now, Aggregate Gallery, California, USA
2021, Vienna Shorts, Vienna, Austria
2021, Flatpack, London, UK
2021, Split Video Art Festival, Split, Croatia
2021, Strangloscope Festival, Brazil, Online Event
2020, ADAF: Athens Digital Arts Festival, Greece
2020, Art Madrid '20, Spain
2019, Fear (Video Art Miden), Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
2019, Fulgente, Desterro, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, 9th Cairo Video Fest, Cairo, Egypt
2019, A Descida ao Maelstrom, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Tridecasónico, Zaratan, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, SOMA, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, RUA (Caldas Late Night), Silos, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
2019, Ibrida Festival, Fabbrica delle Candele, Italy
2019, Videolands, MOMus, Thessaloniki, Greece
2019, Cinenova, Nova School, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Mostra Nacional de Jovens Criadores, Nova School, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, InShadow: Lisbon Screendance Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, Counterpath: The Unseen Festival, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
2018, Pugnant Film Series: Fuck the Narration, Chimeres Space, Athens, Greece
2018, Festival Ecrã, Cinemateca do MAM, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2018, Festival Video Art Miden: From Zero to Infinity, Historic Center of Kalamata, Greece
2018, Festival Images Contre Nature 18, Marseille, France
2018, Now&After, ARTPLAY Design Center, Moscow, Russia
2017, Festival Video Babel, Centro Cultural USIL Cusco, Peru
2017, Expanding Film #1, Pica Studios. York, England
2017, Richterfest, Science and Art space. Moscow, Russia
2017, Germinal Experimental, Germinal Gallery. Lisbon, Portugal
2017, IVAHM, Museum La Neomudéjar . Madrid, Spain
2017, GAB-A 11th Edition, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2017, Filmideo, Index Art Center. Newark, New Jersey, USA
2017, Proceso de Error, Casa Plan. Valparaíso, Chile
2017, Um Mês Português, Faculty of Letters of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, 180 Anos das Belas Artes, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, Festival Reverso 02, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2016, GAB-A 10th Edition, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, I stood up and... never sat down again, Plataforma Revólver. Lisbon, Portugal
2023, Festival Tous Courts, Aix-en-Provence, France
2023, Light Matter, Alfred University, New York, USA
2023, Mostra Strangloscope, Itajaí, Brazil
2023, Vistacurta, Viseu, Portugal
2023, Ibrida Film Festival, Forlì, Italy
2023, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Bogotá, Colombia
2023, Bucharest Short Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania
2023, Light Matter, Kino Palais, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2023, Camara Escura, House of Haeg, Lisbon, Portugal
2023, Mientrastanto Cine, Facutad de Artes de Montevideo, Uruguay
2023, IndieLisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
2023, Light Matter, Cinemateca del Ecuador
2022, La Parceria, Madrid, Spain
2022, Ateneu del Raval, Barcelona, Spain
2022, Light Matter Film Festival, Alfred University, New York, USA
2022, Monstra à Solta, Centro de Artes e Espectáculo de Portalegre, Portugal
2022, Prémios / Awards, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2022, International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Cyprus
2022, Animatou, Genève, Switzerland
2022, Ibrida Festival, Forli, Italy
2022, Festival International du Film de Nancy, France
2022, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Colombia
2022, Festival Ecrã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2022, What You See Is What You Get, Den Haag, The Netherlands
2022, Pan-Cinema Experimental, Curitiba’s Cinematheque, Brasil
2022, Monstra à Solta, Maus Hábitos, Porto, Portugal
2022, Short Waves, Poznán, Poland
2022, Vienna Shorts, Vienna, Austria
2022, Experimental Film East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
2022, Video Art Projects, Thessaloniki, Greece
2022, Festival Oodaaq, Rennes, France
2022, Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Germany
2022, S/ Título: Quer Curtas Ou Não, Corrente, Lisbon, Portugal
2022, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Milwaukee, USA
2022, Go Short, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2022, Monstra, Lisboa, Portugal
2022, Videoformes, Clermont-Ferrand, France
2021, Festival Tous Courts, Aix-en-Provence, France
2021, Transient Visions, Spool Contemporary, Johnson City, NY, USA
2021, Cairo Video Festival, Egypt
2021, Over the Real, Lucca, Italy
2021, La Villa en Court 2, Villa Rohannec’h, Saint Brieuc, France
2021, Concept, CICA Museum, Korea
2021, This Is Where We Are Right Now, Aggregate Gallery, California, USA
2021, Vienna Shorts, Vienna, Austria
2021, Flatpack, London, UK
2021, Split Video Art Festival, Split, Croatia
2021, Strangloscope Festival, Brazil, Online Event
2020, ADAF: Athens Digital Arts Festival, Greece
2020, Art Madrid '20, Spain
2019, Fear (Video Art Miden), Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
2019, Fulgente, Desterro, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, 9th Cairo Video Fest, Cairo, Egypt
2019, A Descida ao Maelstrom, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Tridecasónico, Zaratan, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, SOMA, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, RUA (Caldas Late Night), Silos, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
2019, Ibrida Festival, Fabbrica delle Candele, Italy
2019, Videolands, MOMus, Thessaloniki, Greece
2019, Cinenova, Nova School, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Mostra Nacional de Jovens Criadores, Nova School, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, InShadow: Lisbon Screendance Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, Counterpath: The Unseen Festival, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
2018, Pugnant Film Series: Fuck the Narration, Chimeres Space, Athens, Greece
2018, Festival Ecrã, Cinemateca do MAM, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2018, Festival Video Art Miden: From Zero to Infinity, Historic Center of Kalamata, Greece
2018, Festival Images Contre Nature 18, Marseille, France
2018, Now&After, ARTPLAY Design Center, Moscow, Russia
2017, Festival Video Babel, Centro Cultural USIL Cusco, Peru
2017, Expanding Film #1, Pica Studios. York, England
2017, Richterfest, Science and Art space. Moscow, Russia
2017, Germinal Experimental, Germinal Gallery. Lisbon, Portugal
2017, IVAHM, Museum La Neomudéjar . Madrid, Spain
2017, GAB-A 11th Edition, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2017, Filmideo, Index Art Center. Newark, New Jersey, USA
2017, Proceso de Error, Casa Plan. Valparaíso, Chile
2017, Um Mês Português, Faculty of Letters of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, 180 Anos das Belas Artes, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, Festival Reverso 02, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2016, GAB-A 10th Edition, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2016, I stood up and... never sat down again, Plataforma Revólver. Lisbon, Portugal
concerts
2023, Lea Bertucci / Alagoa, FerroForum, Luxembourg
2023, turva X berru, Porto, Portugal
2023, cosmos campolide, Lisbon, Portugal
2021, turva’s showcase at Semibreve, Braga, Portugal
2021, Alagoa at SMUP, Parede, Portugal
2020, Sound Session at the Exhibition "A Invenção da Amnésia”, at Casa d'Avenida, Setúbal, Portugal
2019, Alexandre Alagoa + Pedro Tavares + Z, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Victor Biolchini / Alagoa, Junqueira Studio, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Elite Gymnastics, Bbb Hairdryer, Alagoa, Marie-Pascale Hard, Zaratan, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alexandre Alagoa + André Silva + Pedro Tavares + Z, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Zaratan: Tridecasónico (opening), Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alagoa / Tra$h Converters, Lounge Bar, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Here and I, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alagoa / Tra$h Converters, Café au Lait, Porto, Portugal
2018, Super Sonic Stereo Scope, Pogo Teatro, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, Z + Pedro (visuals by Andre) / Alagoa (visuals by Tiago), Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
press
2023, Clot Magazine, translating music into a crystalline cinematic world
2023, Daniel Duque, A Cabine: The Jar
2023, Noah Schmeling, Ripping Perception to Shreds
2020, Vasco Completo, turva
2020, Daniel Duque, turva: de música a vídeo
2018, Matheus Fiore, Festival Ecrã – Vortex; Rochas Em Forma de Vento; 1048 Luas
2016, Luís Mendonça, «O caso português: cinema experimental, esse estrangeiro», Re•vis•ta, número 2, 26 de Novembro 2016, pp. 45-55
lectures
2020, Vortex (2017) & the Structural Film for the course Curso Geral de Cinema, CineReactor (Lisbon, Portugal)
2019, Screening of Vortex + talk about Michael Snow, Takashi Ito & Toshio Matsumoto, Junqueira Studio (Lisbon, Portugal)
2018, Michael Snow and the Structural Film, Associação Gandaia (Costa da Caparica, Portugal)
2018, Presentation and talk about the film Vortex at the Fotografia e Movimento course, by invitation of the teacher Luis Mendonç, Atelier de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal)
awards
2023, Best Experimental Short Film: When I Close My Eyes I See Everything, Bogotá Experimental Film Fest, Colombia
2022, Honorable Mention: GRID, Animatou, Geneve, Switzerland
2022, Best Editing: GRID, Experimental Film East Anglia, UK
2022, Best International Film: GRID, Experimental Film East Anglia, UK
2022, Jury Award: GRID, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, USA
2021, Grand Prix Best Film: GRID, Split Videoart Festival, Croatia
2019, Merit Based Grant: Best 2019 Masters Student from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon
2023, Lea Bertucci / Alagoa, FerroForum, Luxembourg
2023, turva X berru, Porto, Portugal
2023, cosmos campolide, Lisbon, Portugal
2021, turva’s showcase at Semibreve, Braga, Portugal
2021, Alagoa at SMUP, Parede, Portugal
2020, Sound Session at the Exhibition "A Invenção da Amnésia”, at Casa d'Avenida, Setúbal, Portugal
2019, Alexandre Alagoa + Pedro Tavares + Z, Cossoul, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Victor Biolchini / Alagoa, Junqueira Studio, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Elite Gymnastics, Bbb Hairdryer, Alagoa, Marie-Pascale Hard, Zaratan, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alexandre Alagoa + André Silva + Pedro Tavares + Z, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Zaratan: Tridecasónico (opening), Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alagoa / Tra$h Converters, Lounge Bar, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Here and I, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
2019, Alagoa / Tra$h Converters, Café au Lait, Porto, Portugal
2018, Super Sonic Stereo Scope, Pogo Teatro, Lisbon, Portugal
2018, Z + Pedro (visuals by Andre) / Alagoa (visuals by Tiago), Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, Portugal
press
2023, Clot Magazine, translating music into a crystalline cinematic world
2023, Daniel Duque, A Cabine: The Jar
2023, Noah Schmeling, Ripping Perception to Shreds
2020, Vasco Completo, turva
2020, Daniel Duque, turva: de música a vídeo
2018, Matheus Fiore, Festival Ecrã – Vortex; Rochas Em Forma de Vento; 1048 Luas
2016, Luís Mendonça, «O caso português: cinema experimental, esse estrangeiro», Re•vis•ta, número 2, 26 de Novembro 2016, pp. 45-55
lectures
2020, Vortex (2017) & the Structural Film for the course Curso Geral de Cinema, CineReactor (Lisbon, Portugal)
2019, Screening of Vortex + talk about Michael Snow, Takashi Ito & Toshio Matsumoto, Junqueira Studio (Lisbon, Portugal)
2018, Michael Snow and the Structural Film, Associação Gandaia (Costa da Caparica, Portugal)
2018, Presentation and talk about the film Vortex at the Fotografia e Movimento course, by invitation of the teacher Luis Mendonç, Atelier de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal)
awards
2023, Best Experimental Short Film: When I Close My Eyes I See Everything, Bogotá Experimental Film Fest, Colombia
2022, Honorable Mention: GRID, Animatou, Geneve, Switzerland
2022, Best Editing: GRID, Experimental Film East Anglia, UK
2022, Best International Film: GRID, Experimental Film East Anglia, UK
2022, Jury Award: GRID, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, USA
2021, Grand Prix Best Film: GRID, Split Videoart Festival, Croatia
2019, Merit Based Grant: Best 2019 Masters Student from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon