'Luso-orientalism': Portuguese Asian 'imagined communities' in Estado Novo film propaganda.

The article examines the limited Portuguese filmography on the former colonies in Asia, collectively referred to as the "Portuguese Orient," during the Estado Novo dictatorship (1933–74). It argues that the scarcity of films about these territories—Goa, Daman, Diu (Portuguese India), Macau, and Timor—stems from their symbolic value within a nationalist and Luso-tropicalist propaganda framework that emphasized a mythic, homogenized Portuguese identity rather than local realities. While African colonies like Angola and Mozambique received more cinematic attention due to their economic importance, films about the Portuguese Orient were often late, sparse, and subordinated to political events, projecting an idealized image of multicultural harmony and Christian civilizing missions. The article also highlights the role of propaganda films, anthropological footage, and the influence of Gilberto Freyre's Luso-tropicalism in shaping these cinematic representations, which served to legitimize colonial rule amid rising independence movements and international criticism.