When, in 2010, the bicentennial of the construction of the Lines of Torres Vedras was celebrated, the idea arose of creating an event, inspired by the history of the French invasions and by the defence of the national territory, that included a contemporary component and was able to attract visitors to the Torres Vedras lines region.
In the previous decade, the municipalities that constitute the Historical Route of the Lines of Torres Vedras launched a significant number of actions of valorisation of the cultural heritage, including the restoration of forts, strongholds and military roads, the construction of new accessibilities and interpretation centres, the under-taking of research work, including archaeological excavations, the organisation of colloquia and conferences, and the editing of new publications, whether of a scientific nature or of a touristic character. The achievement of this project was made possible thanks to the financing of both the EEA Grants and the municipalities, having been distinguished and awarded nationally and internationally, with emphasis on the Europa Nostra Award, in the area of conservation, in 2014.
The competing initiatives for public promotion of the XIX century events proceeded in 2012, the year in which the film The Lines of Wellington premiered, with an inter-national cast and screening at the major film festivals, namely Venice, New York and Cannes.
In Portugal, in addition to the cinemas, the film was screened on public television, in a series format with 3 episodes. An exclusive version was also produced, in documentary format, for the interpretation centre of the Lines of Torres Vedras (Forte de S. Vicente).
While cultural event, the Festival Novas Invasões takes on a hybrid format, combining historical reenactments by local associations, local shops and private individuals, which faithfully recreated craftsmen, taverns, experiences and customs.
The great novelty of this edition was the campaign hospital, with the ‘war stories between a Portuguese soldier and an English soldier’. During all the days that comprised the festival, the ‘wounded’ were taken to the hospital, bloodied men, transported from the battlefront on stretchers to receive medical care.
Among much screaming and whining, they reported the misadventures and privations to which they were subjected... a highly realistic scenario, where pedagogy was present, much to the liking of the younger bystanders. The historical reenactments also invaded the castle of Torres Vedras, as well as the fort of S. Vicente, with parades, demonstrations of optical telegraphy operation, of historical weaponry, skirmishes between belligerent armies, military manoeuvres and other historical activities. The new invaders brought the plurality of ideas and of world visions, opening room to the utopias and changes of the everyday life, through artistic expression, culture, shared thinking and social conviviality. The festival is aimed at the general public and, in particular, to families seeking entertainment, leisure and knowledge, valuing initiatives that cross popular culture with contemporary artistic and creative expression practices, in an informal context and of interpersonal relationships.
The 2019 edition gave continuity to this fundamental, structural and creative dialogue, between a historical time and our present time. The programming of this edition sought to suggest new spaces of experience, betting on sharing and singular creation, summoning associativism to be a part of the construction of a party that sets the agenda and the processes of urban life.
An edition marked by ‘ambulation’, instigated by disco-very, proposing the crossing and dialogue of viewers and artists through the experience of the physical and immaterial spaces of a city that rebuilds itself through feast and communion. There were more than a hundred actions, including shows, workshops, exhibitions and touristic and gastronomic experiences.
Germany being the guest country, the festival has prepared a comprehensive and diverse range of offerings, with emphasis on the inaugural spectacle, Sonnambulo, by the Titanick Theater company. Inspired by the work of Hieronymus Bosch, the company travestied the Choupal park with the obscure universe of this artist, constructing ten imagined scenarios, through the use of mysterious, symbolic and original characters.
The many hundreds of people who attended this spectacle surely won’t forget it...
The presence of the ‘new invader’ continued to assert itself in the Ciclo de Cultura Alemã (German Culture Cycle), which featured a gastronomic offer of Teutonic inspiration, the telling of Grimm brothers’ stories, schwarbacher calligraphy, traditional German dances, and artisanal beer workshops, a film cycle with the presence of director Philipp Hartmann, and the ‘poetic invasions’ of Paulo Condessa.
Other novelty of the 2019 edition was the invitation to the presentation of projects originating from local cultural organisations to integrate the contemporary programming of the festival. Five projects were selected, Com que Linhas se Descose a Guerra, of Bolha – Teatro de Marionetas, A-da-Vinha, of the Académico de Torres Vedras, Struggle Like a (Wo)Man #1, of Sónia Carvalho (Emerge), Nos Pés Carrego as Emoções deste Mundo, of CruzaMenTes – Cia. de Música Teatral, and Casa Hipólito – O Modus Operandi, of the Cooperativa de Comunicação e Cultura.
In addition to these projects, two original creations were also presented, commissioned for the Festival Novas Invasões, the communal opera É Preciso Resistir, produced by the AREPO – Associação de Ópera e Artes Contemporâneas, from the libretto by Rui Zink, the composition of Luis Soldado and the staging of Linda Valadas, and the performance Fazer o Caminho que se Faz Fazendo, by Gil Ferrão.
This line of programming constitutes an approximation to the universe of local artistic creation, stimulating the wider participation of cultural agents and the creative development of projects from the imagined universe of the temporal bridge between the XIX century and today.
It was four days of intense experiences, more than a hundred actions, the participation of dozens of associations, artists and companies from several countries, of local shops and restaurants, which attracted about 40,000 people to Torres Vedras. The Festival Novas Invasões will be back in 2021.