Question 1

Which World Cup match appears in the film?

Accepted Answer

In the scene where Paul enters a pub and watches a football game, it is a World Cup match between Italy and Brazil from 5 July 1982. Italy won 3-2, with Paolo Rossi scoring all three goals.

Question 2

Why was Lisbon chosen as the setting?

Accepted Answer

The film was shot on location in Lisbon in the early 1980s, when the city still carried the faded melancholy of post-dictatorship Portugal. Tanner deliberately captured its crumbling facades, empty docks, and washed-out light to mirror Paul's psychological dislocation.

Question 3

How does the film use sound to create its atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

The film's sparse soundtrack emphasizes ambient sounds: creaking ships, distant church bells, and Lisbon's streets. Tanner intentionally avoided music that would emotionally manipulate viewers, reinforcing the film's detached, observational tone.

Question 4

What did the director say about the 'white city'?

Accepted Answer

Tanner remarked that the 'white city' of Lisbon was less a place of liberation and more a mental landscape—an emotional blankness onto which Paul projects his confusion.

Question 5

Which Academy Awards category was the film submitted for?

Accepted Answer

The film was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards.

In the White City

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