Palaces of Pity
Haunted by their own directionless lives, two pre-adolescent girls reunite while visiting their ailing grandmother. In the midst of her fantasies of a medieval past – one consumed by fear and desire – the two girls are transformed and confront a legacy of oppression. “Love is finally, / an entrancement of legs, / a union of bellies, / a brief tremor of arteries, / a confusion of mouths, / a battle of veins, / a rolling of thighs, / whoever says otherwise is a beast.“ (Gregório de Mattos, 17th century) “Oh my boy, what will happen to me if I lose you from sight! What will happen to me if I see you bit by bit, I hope to be always, always seeing you! But, as I have no liberty to do so, I die, so I rest without you embracing me! Now shake, shake little puppy, for you, for you little heart, now shake, yes, yes, yes, oh my little heart, give me your arms because there I want to die.“ (Letter from Frei Francisco da Ilha da Madeira to Frei Mathias de Mattos –1690 circa) “Big baby sleep over at my new palace!!! Bring boots and your black hoodies, and pls pls pls pls don’t tell Ana about this, K? Best Best Friends. Thnx! Princess Maggie xoxox MEGA <3” (Text message from Margarida to her Best Friends – Excerpt from Screenplay of Palácios de Pena)