Celebrating the recent release of The Women of Beira on DVD, this is the live premiere of the original composition by Nicholas McNair for this charismatic film by the Italian-Portuguese director Rino Lupo. The Women of Beira endears us with a marvellous visual depiction of rural Portugal, along with remarkable moments of religious ritual and peasant tradition from the first quarter of the twentieth century, making for a very special journey back in time. Alongside this, we also witness the unfolding of a narrative about female sexuality and sin, in an exuberant adaptation of a story by Abel Botelho. The plot is a complex tapestry of relationships and dealings infused by love and desire, but also a reflection on the social differences of the age. Composer and pianist Nicholas McNair has collaborated with such pivotal names as Robert Wilson and Philip Glass, Carina Reich, Bogdan Szyber, Terry Jones, Luís Tinoco, and António Pinho Vargas. McNair has also written music for over 150 silent films, and performed at such events and venues as the Cannes Film Festival (1995) and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

^{Partnership: Portuguese Cinematheque}