Confissões de Um Analfabeto

This tiny short film from 1952 is part of a series of short films that was made by Lisboa Filme, commissioned by the Portuguese State, within the scope of the so-called National Campaign for Adult Education (CNEA), a campaign orchestrated by the government of the time that sought to make people, especially the poorest, understand the value and importance of literacy and seek adult classes, which were then promoted.

The film is the longest in the series of shorts commissioned, running at around fifteen minutes, and was likely shown before, or in between, the films in theaters. This film, in particular, is a series of outbursts, in a very personal tone, in which the speaker confesses to being, himself, the Zé Ilfabeto that the short films followed previously, and who now tells us everything that happened, in the first person, assuming the his identity and putting his face to his past mistakes.

Vasco Santana was, at that time, a notable actor and much loved by the general public, thanks to a series of comic films and his regular participation in light and satirical theater dramatizations, commonly called revue theatre. It was, therefore, a safe bet on the part of this commission, which would thus be able to reach wider audiences, through the comic situations that the actor stars in.

Despite being a particularly minor work in Santana's filmography, this film is nonetheless an interesting and clear example of the way in which the artists of that period knew how to take part in efforts that went far beyond the strictly artistic forum.