Lisbon 5L Literary Festival kicks off under the sign of multiculturalism

Dand according to the Lisbon City Council, promoter of the event, the festival has a diversified program that includes debates, tributes, author tables, cinema, concerts, performances, theater, workshops, guided tours, among other activities.

In this fourth edition, the International Festival of Literature and Portuguese Language — Lisboa 5L — intends to “explore the affective, cultural and social connections that inhabit the different territories” of the city and that “transform it into the many Lisbons that Lisbon is”, according to the autarchy.

Over these four days, there will be a set of debates on multilingualism, linguistic variation and the birth of new artistic expressions in multicultural contexts, with the participation of the Minister of Culture, Pedro Adão e Silva, and names from the cultural scene, such as Kalaf Epalanga, António Contador, Flávio Almada, Margarida Vale de Gato, Ana Naomi de Sousa, Rui Sousa Silva, Luís Sarmento, André Barata and Carlos Pereira.

The program also foresees a set of ‘Author Tables’, with the presence of national and international writers, including Jokha Alharthi, Taiye Selasi, Bruno Vieira Amaral, Susana Moreira Marques, Paulina Chiziane, Javier Cercas, Emicida, Gregorio Duvivier, Inês Fonseca Santos, Mélio Tinga or Cláudia Lucas Chéu, who will launch “new dialogues” inspired by the “cultural effervescence of Lisbon and other contemporary metropolises”.

The festival also includes a cinema cycle – ‘Cinema-Cidade’ – integrated in the IndieLisboa Festival 2023, with the screening of films by national and foreign directors with “different looks and perspectives on the reality of a neighborhood and its communities”.

In this context, a literary cycle is planned, called ‘Seven Centenaries’, dedicated to Eduardo Lourenço, Eugénio de Andrade, Mário Cesariny, Mário-Henrique Leiria, Millôr Fernandes, Natália Correia and Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, with the participation of Rui Zink, Nuno Costa Santos, Dulce Maria Cardoso, Fernando Pinto do Amaral, Filipa Martins, Helena Roseta, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Lídia Jorge and José Manuel dos Santos, among others.

Music, performances and itineraries also occupy a prominent place, while in the educational field, theater sessions and training workshops for students and teachers are planned around reflection on language, multilingualism and dialect variation.

The entire festival program, which is artistically directed by José Pinho, is available on the ‘site’ www.lisboa5l.pt.

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