Carolina Campanela (born April 1, 1994) is a Portuguese actress with a notable career in both theatre and cinema.
She has built a strong presence in theatre, starring in award-winning Portuguese productions of works by Gertrude Stein, Molière, García Lorca, and Bertolt Brecht.
With her background in stage acting, she is recognized for her expressive range and precision in contemporary Portuguese dramaturgy.
Though primarily devoted to theatre, Campanela has made occasional forays into cinema, appearing in O Amor é Lindo… Porque Sim! (2016) and collaborating with João Botelho, one of Portugal’s most revered filmmakers.
In 2024, she takes on her first leading film role in Mãos no Fogo—directed by the acclaimed Margarida Gil—a bold and imaginative adaptation of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw.
Whether on stage or screen, Campanela’s performances captivate with their depth, subtlety, and undeniable presence.
The young film student Maria do Mar is working on a documentary about the old manor houses along the Douro River. It is the final project in her thesis on “Reality in Cinema”. Maria has an unlimited confidence in what is visible. Her candour and her naivety allow her to see the bright side of life – such as the beauty of the landscape and the authenticity of the place, or what’s left of it. But when Maria enters the final manor house on her list, she soon realises that something is going on in this house that is not as innocent as it first seemed. The manor is truly a house of horrors.
The revolutionary Álvaro Cunhal, symbol of Portuguese communism and political giant of the 20th century. He is nothing less than a larger-than-life figure, now examined by João Botelho’s camera, in a detective-minded film, in which the early years of the life of the historic leader of the Portuguese Communist Party are explored. In between, excerpts from his own books are staged for the spectator.