As velhas custódias das artes tradicionais: socialização, identidade e renovação criativa do património através do Festival de cinema Heritales, 2016-2024.

Abstract

In various communities around the world, senior citizens are often viewed as guardians of traditional knowledge. They possess familiarity with practices that contribute to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and they maintain a continuous dialogue with their natural environment.

Through Heritales, a film festival focused on heritage and an educational socio-cultural animation project, we investigate strategies for the renewal and preservation of heritage in different countries, emphasizing the vital role of older individuals. Filmmakers across the globe depict the elderly as vital sources of knowledge, aiming to support the survival of heritage. Films and documentaries commonly portray older people as the primary custodians of traditions, often presenting this as a vanishing asset.

Women, in particular, are highlighted for their essential roles, as the transmission of this knowledge is frequently associated with private, familial, and domestic life in many cultures. This connection often ties to the roles traditionally assigned to women. This article explores how heritage fosters processes of collective identity and cultivates emotional communities based on shared traditions.