Cinema Nimas and the NOVA Institute of Philosophy (IFILNOVA) present a new film series exploring the relationship between cinema and philosophy, with screenings accompanied by commentary from researchers and lecturers at NOVA University Lisbon.

All great films are philosophical — not because cinema seeks to apply or illustrate philosophical concepts, but rather because cinema is itself a distinctive form of reflective thought.

This is the premise behind the Cinema & Philosophy at Nimas film series. Throughout the 2026/27 academic year, the series will present one screening per month, featuring major works from film history selected and discussed by researchers and lecturers from the NOVA Institute of Philosophy (IFILNOVA) and the NOVA University Lisbon Master’s programmes in Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics and Artistic Studies: Maria João Mayer Branco, João Pedro Cachopo, Nélio Conceição, João Constâncio, Bartholomew Ryan and Paolo Stellino.

The initiative follows on from a collaboration that began in June, when Nimas hosted a special screening of Edgar Reitz’s Leibniz — Chronicle of a Lost Painting (2025). The screening was followed by a conversation with Professor João Constâncio (IFILNOVA) exploring the film’s questions around art, philosophy and representation. That event provided an initial introduction to the dialogue that the new series will now develop further.

The first semester of 2026/27 features four screenings:

23 September — Lost Highway, directed by David Lynch
Commentary by João Pedro Cachopo

16 October — The Mirror, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Commentary by Bartholomew Ryan

18 November — Ikiru, directed by Akira Kurosawa
Commentary by João Constâncio

3 December — Winter Light, directed by Ingmar Bergman
Commentary by Paolo Stellino