RusClub #8 — nadine

After a sleepless night in this party town full of drunken noises we get up to watch the bull running underneath our window. We make a tour around the town and in the castle and find the end of a drunken party. Not everybody in town is tired this morning though. We meet Nizette Nielsen has a small shop full of woven rugs and hand made products. She apparently owns a factory in Reguenos de Monsaraz where employes mostly woman from the local region. The factory used to be much bigger, but since the Portuguese cloth industry got competition from Eastern countries like China, India and Bangladesh, she had to re-orientate the factory. After commissions of big companies the factory now works for private clients and mainly works with ancient patterns. Next to her shop we find two Frenchmen in a shop Casa Tial with local goodies, like canned sardines, olive oil, sirups, candies, and good coffee. Thierry and Alexandre are already three years living in Portugal and started this shop five months ago.

After these nice encounters we leave the Castelo for Mourao. Therefor we need to cross the Guadiana lake, created by several dams and only exists for 12 years. The view is impressive and at first we can only see its beauty. After biking along the lake we also see a big change of the local vegetation and drowning olive trees. It’s clear that villages, orchards and roads had be sacrificed for this energy winning lake.

In Mourao we get some lunch after which we stop at the lake for a rest and a swim.

Around 17:00 when the temperature is a bit down we head for Moura, still 30km away. We bike again between sun and rain and the darker it get’s the closer the rain storm comes.

Once in Moura there seems to be again a party going on. An initiative of a local restaurant prompts wines from the Alentejo region we are biking now for several days. We join the table and discover local feijoada and try different wines. Even the rain cannot stop this feast. But with 60km in the legs and while the party goes on for the village one by one we be to our deserved beds.

nadine kindly welcomes everyone for our RusClub #8.

[NL] RusClub is een platform voor Russische cinema. Alexandra Dementieva gidst het publiek doorheen de geschiedenis van de Russische cinema aan de hand van twee geselecteerde films. De RusClubs vinden plaats in Plateau (Herdersstraat 30, Elsene). De deuren openen om 7u30 en de eerste film start om 8u.

[EN] RusClub is a platform for Russian cinema. Alexandra Dementieva selects two Russian movies and guides you through the history of Russian cinema. RusClub takes place at Plateau, Rue du Berger 30 Herdersstraat in Ixelles, Elsene. The doors open at 7:30pm and the first movie starts at 8pm.

RusClub #8 takes place on Tuesday 26 August and the movies that will be shown are:

1. Inside a Square Circle (Внутри квадратного круга) (2011) by Valery Shevchenko (documentary, 17 min)

“After a visit to the most important Russian christmas tree, children go to Cathedral Square, where their parents are waiting.”

2. Ya tozhe khochu (2012) by Aleksey Balabanov (83 min)

“This film is a brilliant view on Russia today. Hundred years ago, it was a large empire, with people who had faith and a sense of life. Today, it’s a raped country: 70 years of the Soviet Union have left people without a ground under their feet. The movie shows Saint-Petersburg, a once brilliant empire’s capital, and follows the life of some of its current citizens : a killer, a bad musician, an alcoholic, a poor old man, and an unfortunate prostitute.

These people don’t talk very much, just because there’s nothing left to talk about. They go to a place with no return way — without any doubt, as they have nothing to loose. All they possess, is a wish to be happy. And may be some of them really deserve it…“

RusClub #8

26/08/2014

doors: 7:30 pm

start movie: 8:00 pm

Plateau – rue du berger 30 herdersstraat – ixelles/elsene