biography
Alexandre Alagôa (1994) is a portuguese experimental filmmaker and electronic music producer based in Luxembourg.
Alexandre Alagôa (1994) is a portuguese experimental filmmaker and electronic music producer based in Luxembourg.
Drawing on conceptual art, the Fluxus movement, Op Art, and the Structural Film tradition, his practice intertwines scientific studies of physiology and psychology with the raw plasticity of moving images, often shattering the senses of vision and hearing into new sensible, obscure realms. By emphasizing the formal elements of film (film grain, flicker effects, the plain surface of the celluloid and the canvas, the use of rhythm and repetition, the manipulation of the still-frame, and camera movement) in a constant dialogue with optical phenomena (after-images, phosphenes, purkinje trees), Alagôa’s films destabilize and reorganize the core mechanics of perception.
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 holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Arts (2015), a Master’s Degree in Audiovisuals (2018) with a thesis on Structural Film, and a Post Graduation 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.
He has been an invited lecturer for Cultural and Educational Institutions such as Casino Luxembourg, the Faculty of Letters of Lisbon, Atelier de Lisboa (Alvalade, Lisbon), Atelier Artéria, CineReactor (S. Sebastião, Lisbon), giving speeches and workshops on experimental film history, single-frame animation and cameraless techniques. In 2020, Alagôa launches a project entitled turva, a production house 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 the Luxembourg Film Festival (Luxembourg, 2024),
Festival Tous Courts (France, 2023 & 2021),
IndieLisboa (Lisbon, 2023), Go Short Nijmegen (The Netherlands, 2022),
Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (Germany , 2022), Videoformes (France, 2022), Monstra (Portugal, 2022), Vienna Shorts (Austria, 2022 & 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).
education
2026, Baltic Analog School #6 Edition, Online Course
2026, Baltic Analog School #6 Edition, Online Course
2019, Post-Graduation in Sound Art, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2018, Masters Degree in Experimental Film: Thesis on Structural Film, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
2015, Graduation in Multimedia Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon
awards
2024, Best of Fest, We Make Movies, Los Angeles, USA
2024, Best of Fest, We Make Movies, Los Angeles, USA
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
2019, Merit Based Grant: Best 2019 Masters Student from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon
press
2023, Clot Magazine, translating music into a crystalline cinematic world
lectures
2020, Vortex (2017) & the Structural Film for the course Curso Geral de Cinema, CineReactor (Lisbon, Portugal)
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)
concerts
2023, Lea Bertucci / Alagoa, FerroForum, Luxembourg
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
festivals & exhibitions
2025, Atelier Artéria, Lisbon, Portugal