Clandestina

A poetic reflection on clandestine resistance across generations

Clandestina traces the clandestine experience of Margarida Tengarrinha, a young artist invited to go underground in Portugal during the second half of the twentieth century. The film draws on her memoirs, which reveal the hidden network of the Portuguese Communist Party and the crucial role she played as a document forger in the antifascist struggle against the Estado Novo regime. Through her narrated recollections, the documentary illuminates both the structure of political resistance and the intimate challenges of a life shaped by secrecy, risk and constant displacement. Her story reflects the double invisibility that marked this period. One layer arises from the historical erasure of women’s contributions to political movements. The other stems from the very nature of clandestinity, in which operating from the shadows was essential to survival and action.

The film expands these memories through a deliberately anachronistic visual language. Contemporary imagery intersects with the protagonist’s historical experiences, creating a space where the past echoes into the present. The narrator, speaking in the first person, anticipates events and reflects on emotions that remain resonant today. This approach allows Clandestina to move beyond a historical account and to situate its narrative within a broader contemplation of political militancy, gendered oppression and the continuity of resistance. The documentary film invites viewers to consider how the concept of fascism persists and how new forms of clandestinity emerge in modern contexts. By revisiting this personal and political testimony, Clandestina connects individual memory with collective history and with the urgency of present day struggles.