USA Premiere SYNOPSIS Natália is a 75 year old Portuguese crafts woman, who struggles to maintain the art of the bulrush mats. Ever since her early days, in a time and place that knew no abundance, the bulrush was a central piece of a simple way of living. Her life and her craft intertwine and blend in a magic realism documentary. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR Pedro Cruz, born in 1983, is a Portuguese director and sound editor. With a degree in Psychology and a degree in Documentary Cinema, he directed "Farewell to the river" - Best Short Film at Festival Luso-brasileiro de Sta Maria da Feira 2018, and Honorable Mention for Best Doc. at Caminhos do Cinema Português, 2017; and "The Pleasant Feeling of Being in a More Innocent Age - Paul Bowles' Impressions on Portugal" screened at Leffest 2017. David Gomes is a Portuguese director and director of photography of independent documentary, with an educational background on Creativity and Advertisement. He co-directed "Farewell to the river".   AWARDS & SCREENINGS Alexandria Short Film Festival 2022 – Hypatia Silver Prize Award Best Documentary (Egypt); International Portrait Film Festival Sophia 2021– Most Wonderful Film Award (Bulgaria); Avanca Film Festival 2021 – Best Documentary - Avanca Competition (Portugal); Screener Short Films 2021 – Best Documentary (UK); International World Film Awards 2021 – Best Short Documentary (Slovakia); Heritales International Heritage Film festival 2021 (Portugal) - Best Medium Documentary; Madrid Film Awards 2022 – Best Short Documentary (Spain); Arruda dos Vinhos 2022 – Best Short Film (Portugal); Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival 2023 – Best Short Film (Italy).