Tiago Lila

The Bodiless Woman is an intervention film about the violence perpetuation and, above all, about the victim’s dignity and her deliverance.

This is Justine Lemahieu’s encounter over several years with Lila and João, the two artists and activists from Fado Bicha band, whose songs embody and give voice to LGBTQIA+ stories and struggles. Backstage, words and glances intersect, questioning our relationship with appearances, gender norms, language, and sexuality.

Set against the backdrop of a traditional Portuguese society, Fado Bicha (trans)forms heteronormative Fado music into a queer labyrinth of self-acceptance and self-expression. By reclaiming the scars that homophobia and transphobia have given them, Fado Bicha exposes what Fado music could have been if society were more accepting.