The Garbage Man

Portuguese animation filmmaker Laura Gonçalves interviewed her relatives about her late uncle, Manel Botão. He was an extraordinary and adventurous man, as we see in this documentary drawn in flowing lines, which Gonçalves made based on these conversations. The film centers on a family dinner on a hot summer’s day, at a long table laden with traditional dishes. The animations, mostly in black-and-white, feature the voices of uncles, aunts and cousins talking about this colorful character, who fled the country with his family during the dictatorship in Portugal and became a garbage collector in Paris.

Everyone has fond memories of the many items he brought back for the family—he would find them or they were donated, and he then lovingly repaired them himself. There are playful references to a dark chapter in Portuguese history, but the focus lies on the love within this close family, human resilience in difficult times, and the humor with which memories are recalled and cherished.