“The Portuguese Film Academy congratulates António Ferreira, the producer, the entire artistic and technical team, and the other professionals involved in the making of ‘A Memória do Cheiro das Coisas,’ wishing them the greatest success in this new stage of the film's journey,” the academy's statement reads.

The film was up for a vote in recent weeks among the academy members, alongside “18 Buracos para o Paraíso” (18 Holes to Paradise), by João Nuno Pinto, “Maria Vitória”, by Mário Patrocínio, “Primeira Pessoa do Plural” (First Person of the Plural), by Sandro Aguilar, “Projeto Global” (Global Project), by Ivo M. Ferreira, and “Terra Vil” (Evil Land), by Luís Campos.

António Ferreira's film is a fictional narrative that addresses racism, aging, and war trauma.

The story revolves around Armênio, who, on the verge of turning 80, moves into a nursing home, disgruntled at being treated like the other elderly residents and unable to accept support from a Black Portuguese caregiver.

It is on Hermínia, the Black woman, that Armênio unleashes his prejudice and racism, while simultaneously reliving, in nightmares, the time he fought in the Colonial War in Africa.

In an interview with Lusa before the premiere, António Ferreira explained that he wanted to make a film about ageing, that irreversible moment at the end of life, and, at the same time, talk about what still persists in Portuguese society decades after the war in the colonised territories ended.

The Portuguese military “were brainwashed into seeing black people as the enemy. When the war ended, the country had a revolution, and nobody explained anything to these men about what had been put into their heads; nobody ever dismantled these ideas and prejudices that have persisted for decades,” lamented António Ferreira.

The director, born in 1970, conducted research with ex-combatants and psychologists, and drew inspiration from his personal experience as the son of a man who was left with war scars.

“A Memória do Cheiro das Coisas” stars José Martins as Armênio, who tries to come to terms with the past and ageing while confronting Hermínia, played by Mina Andala.

The film earned José Martins the Best Actor award at the Shanghai Film Festival in China, and António Ferreira the Best Screenplay award, co-written with Tiago Cravidão, at the Tangier Film Festival in Morocco.