Mirene and André, and Carl and Vicente, are both couples in their mid-thirties. While Mirene and André struggle with their fertility, Vicente decides to undergo an experimental procedure, implanting an ovary in his body in the hopes of having a child with Carl. A love drama of speculative undertones, “Becoming Male in the Middle Ages” is an intimate tale about queer sexuality, bodily autonomy, reproductive desires, and the ghost of normativity.

Director Biography

Pedro Neves Marques is a director, visual artist, and writer (b. 1984, Lisbon). Their cinema releases include the short fiction films “The Bite,” which premiered at TIFF – Wavelengths and NYFF – Projections in 2019 and was awarded at Go Short Nijmegen, Short Waves, Sicilia Queer Film Festival, MixBrasil, and MIEFF, and “Exterminator Seed” which premiered at IndieLisboa in 2017. They also directed the short political documentary “Art and Hurt” (2018). They have had solo exhibitions in contemporary art institutions such as Castello di Rivoli, High Line, e-flux, CA2M, CaixaForum, Gasworks, Pérez Art Museum of Miami, and Museu Colecção Berardo; shown in screenings at Tate Modern Film, Serpentine Galleries, and HOME Manchester; as well as in biennials like Liverpool Biennial and Gwangju Biennial, among many others. Together with Catarina de Sousa, they founded the film producer Foi Bonita a Festa in 2021.