To this day, Portuguese heritage and culture continue to inspire the Canadian arts scenes.

Here is an example:

Inspired by - 1998 Noble Prize in Literature - José Saramago's novel, Canadian director director Dennis Villeneuve released the film "Enemy".

Read how Villeneuve was inspired by Saramago's book:

And were there things that were especially important in translating the book from a Latin setting to a Canadian setting? What did you learn about the material while doing the adaptation? The movie is talking about a problem: the problem with intimacy. In the Saramago novel, he goes on about society, about fear of the police and whatnot. That is more something that, when you more think it, more makes sense in a dictatorship or a more police-oriented state. So we decided to change it. Instead of having that kind of character come from a fear of the police, I decided to translate it to a kind of shame, this control of shame. So he is cut off from society, but by shame instead of fear. And it’s concerned with the Internet space, this bubble that was set in the ’90s. So those are the two big differences [between] the novel and the screenplay. In order to adapt [a work], I think you have to destroy it somewhat. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the privilege to show the movie to José Saramago because he passed away as we were working on the screenplay. I never had the chance to talk to him. I never had the chance to show him the film. But I tried to be as faithful to the spirit and the idea of the novel as possible. Books and movies are different mediums. You have to transform, and so I did.

Interview by Brandon Harris in Features, Issues on Jan 17, 2014

Read the full interview at Film Maker Magazine

DIRECTED BY DAVID MORTIN AND PATRICIA FOGLIATO

Patricia Fogliato and David Mortin's The Stowaway is the story of Antonio da Silva who, as a young boy in Portugal, hid away on a schooner bound for Newfoundland. Eighty years later, Antonio's daughters, Phyllis and Marie, retrace his life in hopes of creating a more complete portrait of their father.

Antonio regretted that he never again saw his mother and family. He reconnected with his countrymen through the visits of Portugal's White Fleet fishermen to the port of St. John's. Antonio was always the first to greet the fishermen after their endless months at sea. By nightfall, they'd all be singing, dancing and drinking in the kitchen of Antonio's boarding house. For the fishermen this was a welcome safe-harbour. For Antonio, the fishermen were like long-lost family returned to him by the sea. "

Check out more about this series at White Pines Pictures.

Do you know how the Portuguese have contributed to the Canadian musical scene?

No, we are not talking about pop stars, at least, not only! From folk songs, to brass bands, to pop artists, there is a lot to discover!

Have you ever heard the folk songs of Phyllis Cavallini ? Do you know how many Portuguese brass bands (Bandas Filarmónicas) there are in Canada?

There is a lot more to discover about this! Check, for example, the article "Portuguese Music in Canada" on the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) has adapted Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago’s dystopian novel Blindness as a sound installation. Coming soon to the Princess of Wales Theatre.