The tenth edition of the Casa do Xisto Artistic Residency marks a special milestone: 100 people, 100 films created since the very first edition until today. To celebrate this collective journey, we are opening applications for an expanded and commemorative edition of the residency, taking place from July 17 to 23, 2026, in partnership with Curtas Vila do Conde.

This edition aims to go beyond previous formats, opening new conceptual and material territories in analogue cinema, image ecology, and alchemical photochemical processes. Over the course of seven days, participants will work intensively with 16mm film, exploring experimental practices of eco-processing, expanded sound, and contemporary handcrafted cinema.

The programme will be led by Ricardo Leite, filmmaker and visual artist with extensive experience in experimental cinema and photochemical processes. Ricardo is also the creator of the technique “The Alchemy of Cinema”, the central axis of this edition, which investigates new chemical, sensory, and ecological possibilities of analogue image-making.

Visual artist and filmmaker Juliana Julieta joins the residency as technical assistant and co-instructor. Juliana was a resident of the very first Casa do Xisto edition and has since become an integral part of the residency team, regularly collaborating as both artist and instructor in the 16mm eco-processing workshops. Her work exists between oil painting and experimental cinema, developing a sensory, tactile, and phenomenological approach to the moving image. Her films have been presented in contexts such as Curtas Vila do Conde, IndieLisboa, Anthology Film Archives, and Centro de Arte Oliva.

This edition also includes an experimental sound and biofeedback component. Participants will work with different types of microphones, biological sensors, and a MIDI synthesiser connected to plants, allowing sound to be generated and modulated in real time from organic signals within the living environment of Casa do Xisto. These tools will serve to deepen the relationship between cinema, ecology, listening, and expanded sonic practices.

The residency will culminate in a public open-air screening on July 22, 2026, at the Casa do Xisto Cinema Garden, followed by a closing celebration integrated into the Curtas Vila do Conde programme. This tenth edition will have a particularly celebratory character: all former Casa do Xisto residents will be invited to return to celebrate the 100 films created throughout the ten editions. Following the public presentation of the films produced during this edition, a special marathon screening will present works made across the residency’s history.

The collaboration with Curtas Vila do Conde, initiated in 2022, officially integrates the residency into the festival programme and offers full accreditation to participants, granting access to all screenings and activities of Curtas, taking place from July 17 to 26, 2026. The festival will also provide logistical support for the travel and participation of guests in the residency’s final event.