A family organizes a summer gathering before selling their old farm. A fire engulfs the region and, under suffocating circumstances, the two sisters, Francisca and Catarina, and the daughter of the old maid, Susana, will have to face their differences.

THE LAST SUMMER takes place during a week of torrid heat at an old farm in an area affected by drought and real estate speculation. The family is about to send these lands and its beautiful and imposing central house, solidification of times of abundance that only belong to the past.The possibility of selling this place is the trigger for the individual crises of three women whose lives are impacted by this event, and it is through each one’s point of view that the film develops. Francisca is the eldest of three siblings, she lives on the farm and is preparing to receive the family who will arrive to spend a few days of summer vacation. Francisca does not want to sell.

She welcomes the siblings for what she calls the family’s “last summer” at the place where they all spent their childhood. Catarina is the youngest sister and the second point of view in the story. She is an elegant and pragmatic woman.

She arrives at the house determined to leave everything ready and beautiful to delight the buyer, sell the land and end that place. Susana is the third point of view. She is the daughter of the old maid Alma, and she’s back to the farm to reclaim what she believes is her family’s rights with the potential selling. At a certain point, a fire engulfs the region, and the family is stuck at the farm. With the intensity of the smoke, hallucinations happen and there is a thin line between what is real and what is not. The atmosphere becomes ever too crazy, the sky constantly orange, the lack of oxygen and the fear escalates to a suffocating situation.
At the end, the three stories meet. They all get face to face when
the situation is unbearable and they reunite in the colonial room of
the big house, the coolest and safest place where they wait for a
miracle.

João Nuno Pinto is a Portuguese film director born in Mozambique, that lived in Portugal and Brazil, before establishing himself in Lisbon.

Graduated in Graphic Arts, he started his career in design and art direction before crossing the Atlantic and study Cinema at the New York Film Academy and Directing Actors at the Judith Weston’s Studio in Los Angeles. Pinto’s filmmaking process has been recognized by his character-driven narratives, crafted with
a keen cinematic sensibility.

His latest feature film MOSQUITO, a First World War drama based in his grand-father story, set in Mozambique, and produced by Paulo Branco, was the opening film of the International Film festival Rotterdam 2020 and won the Critics Award for Best International Film at the Mostra de São Paulo, in the same year.

AMÉRICA, his first feature film, was premiered in 2010 at the Rio Festival, Brazil, and won Best Director at the Sofia Film Festival, among other awards. He recently made his television debut with the crime series NATURAL LAW for the Portuguese national television, RTP1, where he led the audience ratings for fiction programs on the channel and won the Sophia Award for Best National Series. THE LAST SUMMER is his third feature film. It is produced by Wonder Maria Filmes, a production company of which he is a founding partner.

WONDER MARIA FILMES is a new production company based in Lisbon, Portugal.

Founded by four longtime friends: writer and director Fernanda Polacow, director João Nuno Pinto and producers Andreia Nunes and Bruno Cabral. All their background and recognized careers are in this new company full of strength to build new projects.
We aim to create and produce social and politically relevant projects for a world desperately needing for change.

Our last project is “Big Bang Henda” doc. 22min, directed by Fernanda Polacow (world premiered in DocLisboa 2023). We are finishing “The Last Summer” a feature directed by João Nuno Pinto, written by Fernanda Polacow; co-produced with Abolina Film (IT) and Aurora Cine (AR). “Sun in Saturn” is in development phase, and it will be the first feature film directed by Ary Zara, that won the CNC Pitch award at Torino Film Lab 2023.