Diamantino, the world’s greatest football player, from Portugal (!), is in a rough spot: after losing his instinctive feel for the ball he is forced to end his career in shame. In search of new meaning, the iconic former athlete embarks on an adventurous odyssey. The surprise hit from Cannes manages to pull off a heady moving picture mashup combining political satire, science fiction, queer glitter and football.

“Unconventional storytelling, adorable pets and topical references swell this affectionate yarn about a Cristiano Ronaldo-esque soccer star being co-opted into an anti-EU plot.” (Sight and Sounds, Sophie Monks Kaufman)

Gabriel Abrantes, born in North Carolina/USA in 1984, received his BA in Cinema and Visual Arts at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York (2006). He also studied at l’École National des Beaux-Art in Paris. His short films have premiered at the Berlinale, Locarno Film Festival, the Venice Biennial, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Daniel Schmidt, born in New Haven/USA in 1984, received a BFA in Film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His films have screened around the world including premieres at the Venice Biennale, Rotterdam Film Festival and the Berlinale.

DIAMANTINO is their first long feature film and was awarded the Grand Prize in the “Semaine de la Critique” section at Cannes in 2018.