Operarias da Voz
Director:
Cláudia Rita Oliveira / Vasco Monteiro
Producer:
Cláudia Rita Oliveira
Production company:
madame filmes
Production country:
Portugal
Duration in minutes:
90
Contact:
Sinopsys:
Between the harmony of a choral voice and the individuality of each woman’s expression, a diverse all feminine collective struggles to negotiate what it means to share a common identity.
Long Sinopsys
In October 2022, in the midst of the post-pandemic context, the Factory Women’s Choir is founded in Coimbra following an open call, launched by Vânia Couto, addressed to all women, regardless of their musical experience. The group grows rapidly, bringing together women of different ages and backgrounds. It affirms the collective singing as an inclusive practice rooted in popular music.
Over time, the choir consolidates its artistic identity, developing a strong public presence and becoming a space for expressing a community founded on sharing and individual and collective transformation.
By the end of 2024, the group experiences an internal crisis following the arrival of new members and the unexpected departure of its founder, initiating a process of reorganization and internal division. Rehearsals grow tenser and are often stretched not with singing but by arguing about the direction of the collective
The arrival of a new conductor further exposes tensions within the group, dividing them into factions. The resistance to change, the dissipating feeling of belonging and the difficulty to exercise democracy within a large collective become a hard and emotional negotiation, on one side those who want to move on from the founder’s tutelage and on the other those who cling to a founding principle.
The reunion with Vânia Couto, during the Carnations Revolution celebrations at the national parliament, symbolically brings this journey to a climax that confronts the internal convulsions within the group . The internal fractures are further exposed, where some feel an insurmountable gap between the democratic values they sing and what they practice as a group, while others see this as validation for their journey.
The film reflects the contemporary challenges of collective life and democratic practice, following the choir as a living organism, where singing together becomes a continuous negotiation between listening, conflict, care, and community-building.
In the end, an open question remains: how can a collective survive a profound rupture without losing what defines it?
The film offers no definitive answers but observes possible paths followed during an internal break, questioning the capacity for reinvention, continuity and transformation when the idea of unity fragments and must be rebuilt.
The story of this choir shows that popular music and oral tradition live through the passing from voice to voice, yet are subject to personal interpretation and is dependent on how a collective organizes itself and how it sees itself.
As the proverb says, what is born of common labor endures only as long as the work continues. It is within the choir that it is decided whether tradition is interrupted, divided, or finds new ways to endure.
Creative Process
During the first months, I filmed alone, taking on both cinematography and sound. Without a prior script or defined narrative structure, the initial filming focused primarily on rehearsals. The aim was to observe, listen, and understand the choir’s internal dynamics, interfering as little as possible in order to later define an informed point of view.
In May 2024, during an artistic residency with the singer A Garota Não, I felt the need to share responsibilities. From that moment on, the project developed as a collaboration with Vasco Monteiro, a long-time colleague and friend. The presence of a man in a predominantly female space was carefully considered and fully accepted by the group.
Interviews were conducted at two distinct moments: at the beginning of the process, to understand the origins of the choir and the motivations behind its creation; and near the end of the two-year period, at a time of greater maturity and internal conflict. Only the audio from these interviews will be used throughout the film, as voice-over.
As the process deepened, the methodology evolved into an observation informed by the group’s internal tensions. Before and after each filming session, we discussed the dynamics observed, the ethical questions involved, and the narrative decisions at stake: what to film, what not to film, when to be present, and when to step back.
Alongside documenting the choir as a collective body, individual recordings were made with some of the women outside the Factory space, aiming to reflect the social, cultural, and personal diversity within the group—without claiming total representation.
Editing will be approached as a space of critical reflection and meaning-making. A final return to the field is planned, with new footage to be captured when the edit is near completion, allowing the narrative arc to close and revealing the outcome of the group’s split.
The film does not seek to provide definitive answers or adopt a moralizing stance. Instead, it embraces an impartial approach that raises questions and invites reflection on different models of democracy, freedom of expression and coexistence.
Director's note
During the first months, I filmed alone, taking on both cinematography and sound. Without a prior script or defined narrative structure, the initial filming focused primarily on rehearsals. The aim was to observe, listen, and understand the choir’s internal dynamics, interfering as little as possible in order to later define an informed point of view.
In May 2024, during an artistic residency with the singer A Garota Não, I felt the need to share responsibilities. From that moment on, the project developed as a collaboration with Vasco Monteiro, a long-time colleague and friend. The presence of a man in a predominantly female space was carefully considered and fully accepted by the group.
Interviews were conducted at two distinct moments: at the beginning of the process, to understand the origins of the choir and the motivations behind its creation; and near the end of the two-year period, at a time of greater maturity and internal conflict. Only the audio from these interviews will be used throughout the film, as voice-over.
As the process deepened, the methodology evolved into an observation informed by the group’s internal tensions. Before and after each filming session, we discussed the dynamics observed, the ethical questions involved, and the narrative decisions at stake: what to film, what not to film, when to be present, and when to step back.
Alongside documenting the choir as a collective body, individual recordings were made with some of the women outside the Factory space, aiming to reflect the social, cultural, and personal diversity within the group—without claiming total representation.
Editing will be approached as a space of critical reflection and meaning-making. A final return to the field is planned, with new footage to be captured when the edit is near completion, allowing the narrative arc to close and revealing the outcome of the group’s split.
The film does not seek to provide definitive answers or adopt a moralizing stance. Instead, it embraces an impartial approach that raises questions and invites reflection on different models of democracy, freedom of expression and coexistence.
Director
Cláudia Rita Oliveira / Vasco Monteiro
Cláudia Rita Oliveira (Loulé, 1976) holds a degree in Communication Design from the University of the Algarve (graduating with a merit scholarship), a bachelor’s degree in Editing from ESTC, and studied Film at FAMU in Prague. She completed a postgraduate degree in Contemporary Photography at FBAUL in Lisbon and attended the documentary workshop of Ateliers Varan at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. As a film editor, she has received several national and international awards, including Best Editing at the Fénix Film Awards (2017), the EDA – Argentine Association of Audiovisual Editors Award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, and the Sophia Awards from the Portuguese Film Academy. She was also nominated for Best Editing by the Brazilian Film Academy in 2011. Her editing credits include O Riso e a Faca (2025) and The Nothing Factory (2017) by Pedro Pinho, Cesária Évora (2022) by Ana Sofia Fonseca, and José e Pilar (2011) by Miguel Mendes, among others. In 2016, she directed the documentary Cruzeiro Seixas – The Letters of King Arthur, which won the Audience Award at DocLisboa 2016 and was screened at other international festivals. In 2020, the film was included in the Portuguese National Cinema Plan. In 2022, she completed No Canto Rosa, a documentary about a case of domestic violence and psychological abuse, screened at several national and international festivals, available on FilmIn. Motivated by this experience, she founded MADAME FILMES, which is currently producing, among other projects, the documentary Women of April by Raquel Freire.
outros trabalhos:
Co- Director
Vasco Monteiro
Vasco Monteiro (Oeiras, 1982) holds a degree in Screenwriting from ESTC (2005), a master’s degree with merit in Documentary Film from ESMAD (2023), and is currently a PhD candidate in Artistic Studies at FLUC. He works regularly as a screenwriter with production companies such as SP Televisão, Santa Rita, Ukbar, and Olhar de Ulises, among others. More recently, he has ventured into documentary filmmaking as a director. He directed his first short film, Balazar, Mystical Contemplation of Faith (2022), collaborated on the documentary Metropolitan Body (2023), promoted by AMP, and participated in the collective creation of the films Next Stop (2022) and Bussolar (2024). His most recent film, The Closing of a Refinery (2023), has been screened at several international festivals (Vila do Conde, Beijing BSFF, Filmambiente, Caminhos do Cinema Português, among others). Vasco is currently finalizing his first feature-length documentary, Borralha – The Stones That the Days Carry Away. He is also a lecturer in writing for film and television and serves as vice-president of APAD (Portuguese Association of Screenwriters and Playwrights). Portfolio: https://vasco-monteiro.github.io/Vasco-Monteiro-Portfolio/
