Shot in Portugal, the film Portugal – Der Wanderfilm (Portugal – The Walking Movie) documents a German couple’s walk from the southern region of Portugal, Algarve, to the north of the country.
Opening in over 40 German theatres this week the directors, Silke Schranz and Christian Wüstenberg, admit to being passionate about Portugal. The Walking Movie is in fact their second about Portugal, the first being released in 2010 that showcases the Algarve.
Detailing almost all the stops of their journey between Sagres, the most south-westerly part of Europe, to Porto in northern Portugal, The Walking Movie was made so as to share the couple’s love of all Portuguese.
“When we visited Portugal for the first time we fell in love with the country; the friendliness of the people, the delicious food, the Portuguese wine, the culture, the coast, the waves and the beaches.
“We used to explore Portugal with a rental car. But that way we could not reach the remote beaches and the rocky coastline”, Silke Schranz commented to Lusa News Agency.
The directors learnt about the Rota Vicentina (Vincentian Route) for walkers so decided to give up the four wheels of their rental car and explore on foot.
“Since we are filmmakers, we took our cameras with us. After 100 kilometres we liked the landscape so much that we decided to continue to Porto”, Christian Wüstenberg explained.
‘Portugal – Der Wanderfilm’ is the seventh film from the partnership of two also released in Germany. Other documentaries produced by the pair include the countries of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand but, the couple admit to Portugal being their “favourite”.
Having visited Portugal over 25 times Silke and Christian, both from Frankfurt, say that “this documentary is a way of showing the benefits of walking in order to get to know a country better. Germans like to travel, but they tend to book hotels in tourist regions. Our new movie shows a Portugal that has not been discovered by tourists. Remote villages, beaches and the best parts off the beaten path. In German cinemas, the audience includes many Portuguese. Even they told us that, through this film, they have rediscovered their country of origin”.
