“2020” by Heléna Antonio

Heléna Antonio’s first film as a director is something precious, small and secret, like a lullaby whispered in the ear or a small carillon or a fleeting caress. It’s called “2020” and it only lasts three minutes. It seems rather odd. After all, 2020 seems to have lasted an eternity. Yet, precisely in this frivolous contradiction, we begin to glimpse the meaning of Antonio’s film. In the turmoil and clamor of world events, in a desperate attempt to rally the strengths and hopes of the whole world, something quietly wonderful continued to happen, sheltered from the furious looks of a distracted humanity: life. With this little canticle, it is as if Antonio had decided to direct her gaze on the humility of beauty. A growing plant, the rising sun, a little girl who experiences her first contacts with the world and her life propels her forward without rest, while she, unaware of the world, indulges the wonderful vital instinct of growth.

“2020”, by contrast, delicately shows us something that we did not think we would associate with such a year, but that actually really happened. After all, nature has a more total concept of time and, net of our miserable human affairs, it continues to thrive and regenerate, with a silent serenity. Heléna Antonio’s film is therefore also a splendid hymn to hope, which without too many words brings our gaze back to the true consistency of our lives. Looking at “2020” we easily forget past events and feel the absolute harmony of life. Helena Antonio reminds us that, with a little more attention, we can discover the great truth of our existence: we were not born to suffer. And we want to believe it.