There’s a moment when a film stops being something you’re pushing forward…
and starts moving on its own.
I found out about Lisbon through an email.
It came after San Francisco — and somehow, it felt different.
The first selection had been a shock.
This one felt like… momentum.
Like something was starting to move.
The film had crossed the ocean.
After its world premiere in New York, after San Francisco, it was now arriving in Europe.
And that meant something.
Not just because of the festival circuit, but because of what Lisbon means to me.
I’ve been going to Portugal for years.
Since I was almost twenty.
And Lisbon… has always felt like one of those places I return to, again and again.
There’s something about the light.
The way it hits the streets, the buildings, the river.
For a photographer, it’s impossible not to feel it.
So when I saw the selection, my first thought was simple:
If it can’t be home… this is a good place for it to be.
The festival is part of a broader sports film circuit in Europe, one that eventually leads to Milan.
And for the first time, I could see a path forming.
Not just isolated selections, but a journey.
A route.
New York was the beginning.
San Francisco, a turning point.
Lisbon… feels like the arrival into something more grounded.
Closer.
There’s still a part of me that wants the film to come full circle.
To reach Bilbao.
To return to Bali, where all of this started.
Maybe that will happen. Maybe not.
But what I’m starting to understand is something else.
Festivals are not just about selection.
They’re a way of seeing your film through other people’s eyes.
Understanding where it lives.
How it’s perceived.
Where it belongs.
And somewhere along the way, something shifts.
You stop trying to control everything.
You stop chasing every step.
And you let the film walk on its own.
Crossing Back: Shifting Courts European Premiere in Lisbon
