Paraíso

How it feels

This documentary looks back at Portugal's 1990s rave and electronic dance music scene. It mixes old home videos, TV clips, and interviews with DJs and producers to show how a local party culture gained international attention.

nostalgicpulsingcelebratoryeducationalhistoricarchivallively

What happens

Paraíso is a 2025 award-winning documentary film about electronic dance music primarily focusing on Portugal in the 1990s (the decade widely considered the golden age of Rave culture in the country). It was directed by Daniel Mota and produced by João Evredosa and Maria Guedes. It premiered at the IndieLisboa film festival in Portugal on May 4, 2025. Dance Club magazine wrote of Paraíso, The title refers to a phrase published in the defunct magazine Muzik, when a journalist described the phenomenon of Portuguese parties as "A Paradise Called Portugal"—an expression that would end up symbolizing a brief but remarkable phase of the national club culture. This international projection was largely due to "So Get Up," by Lisbon's Underground Sound—a "B-side" track with lyrics and vocals by Californian Ithaka Darin Pappas, which ended up becoming an unexpected hit, as DJ Vibe and Rui da Silva recall. The 78-minute film, edited by Henrique Brazão, was created by montaging together hundreds of hours of archival home VHS video tapes, television reports from RTP, SIC and MTV and thousands of still photographs, along with thirty-eight recent interviews with scene insider DJs, producers, dancers and producers including; Yen Sung, Alex FX, Carlos Fauvrelle, Carlos Manaça, Paulo Leite, Luís Leite, The Advent, DJ Vibe, Frank Maurel, Luis "XL" Garcia, Miss Sheila, Nuno Cacho, Rui da Silva and Rob di Stefano. The film discusses the early humble origins of electronic music in Portugal; its clubs such as Kremlin, Alcântara-Mar and Frágil, its underground record labels, and its unique large scale dance parties, often held at historical sites such as the Santa Maria da Feira castle. The film also reflects on the global attention the movement began receiving in 1994 after the release of So Get Up by the duo Underground Sound of Lisbon who incorporated a 1992 literary work written and vocalized by Greek-Californian artist Ithaka (Ithaka Darin Pappas) as the memorable intro and vocal hook. World-renowned DJ, Danny Tenaglia also makes an appearance to discuss his own remix of So Get Up which, more than thirty years after its initial release, remains one of the era's most enduring Tribal house tracks. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Tecla Tónica (2016)
• Anos 90: A Explosão do Pagode
• Better Living Through Circuitry (1999)
• Modulations: Cinema for the Ear (1998)
• What We Started (2017)
• Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999)
• Move Ya Body: The Birth of House (2025)
• Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion (2004)