Eight women, like a nod to Ozon’s musical, sit on lounge chairs by the pool like femmes fatales. They are all dressed in black; some are reading, others are lighting a cigarette. As the incredibly supernatural music twinkles, an attractive young man arrives into the women’s oasis. In order to get the job of gardener, he will pretend to be mute and give in to temptation.

A modern interpretation of Boccaccio’s Decameron, if it were set in contemporary Portugal and featured references to recent film history and pop culture. Thanks to her grandfather, Porto-born Patrícia Neves Gomes has been interested in photography and cinema since childhood, completing her first film in high school. Since then, her work has been screened at numerous festivals, galleries and exhibitions. The Convent Gardener shows her open mind, her command of postmodernism and her sensual directing style.