Our Team
Rita Capucho
Diretor
Rita Capucho is co-founder and director of Porto Femme – International Film Festival, a project to which she is primarily dedicated, working on defining the festival’s programming and strategic direction and promoting films made by women and other gender-diverse filmmakers.
She is a cultural producer, curator, programmer and researcher in the field of cinema. With over 16 years’ experience in developing cultural and film projects, she works on programming, curating and producing events, collaborating with a range of cultural organisations. She is also a programmer for Femme Sessions and was involved in the founding and programming of Shortcutz Aveiro.
She coordinates and teaches on the Cinamiza-te project, which is dedicated to training young people in the field of cinema and promoting audiovisual literacy, and regularly serves on the juries of international film festivals.
She is a founder and board member of MUTIM – Associação de Mulheres Trabalhadoras da Imagem em Movimento, helping to promote the recognition and visibility of women in the audiovisual sector.
She is a PhD student in Communication and Activism at Lusófona University and the University of the Basque Country, and holds an FCT scholarship for her project ‘Women’s Film Festivals as Spaces for Feminist Activism’. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Art Studies from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Coimbra and is a member of the CICANT – Centre for Research and Applied Communication, Culture and New Technologies.
At the same time, she works in the fields of poetry and performance. She is the organiser of the Poetry Slam Aveiro and Poetry Slam Porto, and coordinator of the Portugal Slam platform. He has had works published in journals and anthologies, notably the book ‘Portuguese Re-enactment’.
I’m born for Carnival, and my heart is the same.
Nay Araujo
Production Manager
Nay Araujo is a producer, researcher, curator and audiovisual director. She holds a PhD in Arts from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and undertook research at University of Algarve. She divides her time between Brazil and Portugal, combining filmmaking, curation and research into the relationships between cinema, audiovisual policy, gender issues and representation.
Over more than 15 years in the audiovisual sector, she has worked on film and television projects and institutional initiatives, as well as on the programming and production of exhibitions and festivals. She was the general producer of the feature film Pasajeras [2019] and the executive producer of various audiovisual and educational projects in Brazil and Portugal, maintaining a practice that combines creation, production and critical thinking about cinema from a gender perspective.
She is the founder of the Cinema das Mulheres que Falam Português film festival, a project dedicated to promoting and showcasing films made by women in the CPLP countries, providing a space for different regions, experiences and narratives within Portuguese-language cinema to come together.
She is a partner at the production company Ñanduti Filmes (Brazil) and vice-president of Imigratoria – Associação de Brasileiros do Audiovisual em Portugal, where she works to strengthen professional networks and create spaces for collaboration among artists and migrant workers in the audiovisual sector. She also sits on the governing bodies of MUTIM - Associação de Mulheres Trabalhadoras da Imagem em Movimento.
Her work combines cultural production, research and activism in the audiovisual field, with a particular focus on building transnational networks and expanding opportunities for women to be seen in cinema. She believes in cinema as a space for encounter, memory and transformation, and in strengthening ecosystems where different voices can create, circulate and assert their images.
What I want is for people to be happy. Happy people don’t upset anyone.
Raquel Gonçalves
Submissions & Print Traffic Coordinator
It is the result of the love between a lizard and a domestic cat.
She grew up in a small town, eager to learn more than he was allowed to.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Screenwriting from ESTC-IPL and a Master’s degree in Film and Photography from ESMAD-IPP. She is a poet and a creative soul, an eternal aspiring artist.
She has a magnificent talent for making spectacular, over-the-top, immersive and mind-bending films. She made her directorial debut with the film Echoes in the Castle, which premiered at Cinema São Jorge, at MUVI. She works as a freelancer in photography, video, sound recording and graphic design.
She has previously worked as a projectionist at the Viana Film Festival and the MDOC, and continues to do so at Curtas Vila do Conde and Cinema Verde Viana.
She joined the Porto Femme team in 2025 in the Submissions and Film Distribution department, which led to her taking on a similar role at FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival that same year.
Caught in the Foam of Days.
Cátia Beato
Communications Coordinator, Copywriter and Social Media Manager
Cátia Beato is a filmmaker, producer, communicator, journalist and writer. She holds a degree in Primary Education from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and a degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Coimbra, where she first developed an interest in documentary filmmaking.
He later obtained a Master’s degree in Cinema from the University of Beira Interior and has since been working on film productions in the directing, production and art departments. She was a member of the University Jury at the 30th edition of the Caminhos do Cinema Português festival in Coimbra, and has worked at festivals such as the MDOC – Melgaço International Documentary Festival, managing social media, and at FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, as a guest host.
She is also trying to make a name for herself as a freelancer in video production, subtitling and editing.
Her first article, “The Realism of Close (2022) and the ‘Unconscious Added Value’ of Sound in Cinema: An interview with Yanna Soentjens”, has been published in ANIKI – Portuguese Journal of the Moving Image.
Her current documentary project, The End of Spring, focuses on themes such as death, the spectral, and the discovery of the self through the family archive.
She also has a passion for Portuguese humour and writes articles for the local newspaper in the town where he grew up.
In her spare time, she enjoys experimenting with imagery, writing poetry, embroidery, learning languages and watching films – lots of films!
You aren’t born a woman; you become one.
Mafalda Garcia
Production Assistant
Born in Luanda, Angola, Mafalda Garcia has been involved in cultural production since 1985, building a career that spans Portugal and Brazil. She began her career at the company Bararte, in Aveiro, where she produced musical shows that left their mark on generations, working with artists such as Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Georges Moustaki, Ney Matogrosso, Joan Manuel Serrat, Madredeus, and others.
Her passion for the performing arts led her to collaborate with the Ponto de Partida Theatre Company in Barbacena (Brazil), organising theatre tours and working alongside leading actors such as Nelson Xavier and Cecil Thiré. During the seven years she lived in Brazil, she was responsible for producing cultural events for Banco do Brasil, developing projects that included street entertainment, music, theatre, workshops and exhibitions across various regions of the country.
On her return to Portugal, she took over the production of the Companhia de Teatro Público Reservado for four years and expanded her experience to include conference logistics and catering services in partnership with the University of Aveiro. For the past four years, she has been part of the team at the XX Element Project association, actively collaborating on the production of cultural events and the Porto Femme festival, where she continues to apply her experience and dedication to the arts and culture.
For most of History, Anonymous was a Woman.
Iara Santos
Production Assistant and Audience & Industry Mediator
Iara graduated with a degree in Theatre from ESAP (Porto School of Fine Arts). Never confined to a single discipline, she has always been passionate about every facet of the arts, fascinated by interdisciplinarity and the fusion of different fields. From dance, music, theatre and film to photography... the list goes on.
She was a member of the pre-selection jury for the Porto Femme festival and is currently working as a Production Assistant and Audience and Industry Liaison for the same festival.
Ever since I was a child, I’ve been bitten by the cinema bug, and I believe that audiovisual media has the immense power to foster cultural transformation, diversity and inclusion.
Marione Tomazoni
Support & Partnerships Coordinator
A journalist and founder of TZM Comunicação, with an MBA in Marketing (FGV), Marione Tomazoni has over 20 years’ experience in strategic communications for the cultural and entertainment sectors.
Her career, which began at É Tudo Verdade – International Documentary Film Festival, considered the largest documentary film festival in Latin America, has enabled her to build a solid career in communications within the fields of cinema, the arts and major cultural events.
She led communications for cinema chains, distributors and production companies, including Cinépolis Brasil, Paris Filmes, Clube Filmes, Vitrine Filmes, Foz Home Entertainment and Time For Fun, playing a key role in the release of over 65 feature films and major international productions, such as Billy Elliot – The Musical, Madagascar Live, Splendours of the Vatican and performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Brazil.
She also served as coordinator of special events for the São Paulo International Film Festival for four editions, was executive producer of the Panorama of Contemporary Swiss Cinema for three editions, and was part of the production team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
With perseverance, you will achieve everything you desire.
Inês de Freitas
Designer Gráfica
Inês de Freitas (alter ego – umainês) was born in the late 1980s in the mountains of Trás-os-Montes, in the town of Chaves. The daughter of an architect father and a teacher mother, she was challenged and encouraged to explore the world of the arts and creativity from a young age, a crucial phase in shaping the person she is today. She always thought she would become an architect, but fortunately graduated (from ESEIG, now ESMAD) with a degree in Graphic and Advertising Design! In 2010, she moved to Lisbon, where she worked across advertising agencies and design studios, setting up a graphic design collective along the way – a space where she co-created a brand of handmade dolls, the (IM)PERFEITOS, striking the perfect balance between the digital and the manual worlds. This skill, which she inherited from her grandmothers and holds dear, is something she strives to incorporate into her work.
In early 2022, after 12 years’ experience in the field, she decided to move on to pursue this creative world independently and freely, where she could work from anywhere, although her studio remains in the capital. This new professional life allows her to explore various worlds and materials, put her hands to work (and enjoy her time!), whilst always maintaining her interest and focus on editorial and identity projects linked to culture, as well as small businesses, brands and organisations with which she identifies and which resemble her way of being and seeing life.
Oh! And more walks in the fresh air – essential for sparking ideas.
And sing, sing always.
