Portuguese musical drama ‘The Nothing Factory’ screening at PEFF

CAIRO – 9 November 2017: Director Pedro Pinho’s 2017 debut “A Fábrica de Nada” (The Nothing Factory) will be part of the lineup for the

10th edition of the Panorama of the European Film Festival

, set to screen on Thursday, November 9.

When employees at an elevator factory in Portugal start to suspect that they might lose their jobs, they begin to react in various ways. Examining the lives of blue-collar workers in the current social economic climate of Portugal, Pinho’s three-hour long fictional film debut is based on a real life case involving the Portuguese elevator company Otis.

As punishment for the workers’ attempts to prevent the machinery from being taken away, the higher-ups force them to stand around and do nothing, leading to wild outbursts and eventually ending in a musical number. Since premiering on September 21, 2017, the film has won five awards, most notably the FIPRESCI Prize for "Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week" at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Panorama of the European Film Festival started on November 8 and will run until November 18.