Master’s Thesis: “Representations of the Migrant Woman in Cinema. All the Dreams in the World seen by young people.”

17 de January, 2025 | Chisoka Simões | News

Beatriz Ferreira Carvalho successfully defended her master’s thesis in Communication, Art, and Culture on January 16, 2025, in the Sala de Atos of the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS). The research, titled “Representations of Migrant Women in Cinema: All the Dreams in the World Seen by the Youth”, explored the representation of migrant women in cinema, focusing on its perception by young audiences.

Beatriz Ferreira Carvalho presented her public defense under the guidance of Professors Silvana Mota Ribeiro and Isabel Macedo, before a jury chaired by Rita Maria Gonçalves Ribeiro, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Minho, and composed of the panel members Maria Rosa Soares Pedrosa Cabecinhas, Associate Professor with Habilitation in the Department of Communication Sciences at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Minho, and Isabel Moreira Macedo, Auxiliary Researcher at the Communication and Society Research Centre at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Minho.

Rita Ribeiro, Isabel Macedo, Beatriz Ferreira Carvalho, Rosa Cabecinhas

Summary (excerpt): Todos os Sonhos do Mundo (2017) by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa and A Casa Que Eu Quero (2010) by Joana Frazão and Raquel Marques allows us to reflect on how the representation of women of Portuguese origin intersects with ideas of belonging and national identity. This dissertation discusses the migratory relationships between Portugal and France, the complexity of nationality, identity, and representation concepts, concluding with a brief analysis of cinema as a medium for communication and multiple representations. We use thematic analysis of the films and the content from two focus groups, conducted with Todos os Sonhos do Mundo (2017) as the viewing object and stimulus for debate.