Although not biographical, the narrative explores the experience of the Portuguese diaspora in the United Kingdom through the protagonist, Alice, who has lived in London for many years, as has the Portuguese actress Raquel Cipriano, who plays the character.

Returning to her roots to deal with matters related to her mother's inheritance, Alice rediscovers roots she didn't know she had and is forced to confront them.

"My experience is that our home is a much broader concept. A feeling of not belonging to a specific place, but of belonging to both in different ways," Raquel Cipriano, who has lived in London for about twelve years, told the Lusa news agency.

The project originated from an initial visit to the Douro in 2018, which left the actress impressed by the topography of northern Portugal. "I looked at that place and immediately understood why everyone loves it. I thought I needed to write a film about how a landscape can change a person," she recalled.

The first draft of the script was written during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and developed in collaboration with British filmmaker Mischa Andreski, who brought a personal perspective to the project.

Suffering from multiple sclerosis, Andreski identified with the themes of the work, centred on a character who discovers she has inherited a degenerative disease, Huntington’s Disease, while simultaneously inheriting a house in the Douro Valley.

The house serves as a metaphor for something difficult to let go of.

"I didn't introduce the theme, but I identified with it and felt I had a lot to add to this script from my own experience," explained the director, who studied at Oxford and is currently collaborating with filmmaker Sally Potter on her next feature film.

The film, 15 minutes long and spoken in Portuguese and English, was funded by the Portuguese Film and Audiovisual Institute (ICA) and the GDA Foundation. The development, financing, and production process lasted five years.

The film is scheduled to have its international premiere on Friday at the Piélagos International Short Film Festival 2026 in Spain, followed by FEST – New Directors / New Films 2026 in Espinho, and the Flying Broom Women's Film Festival 2026 in Ankara, Turkey, both in June.

Today, the short film will be screened in London in a special session as part of the cultural program of the Portuguese Embassy in the United Kingdom, with the support of the Camões Institute.

For the authors, "Inheritance" also represents an affirmation of creative independence.

Andreski, 32, who has worked as a producer, sees directing as her natural path and is already preparing new projects, including a feature film.

Cipriano, originally from Lisbon but trained at the American Musical Theatre Academy and the Identity School of Acting, both in London, made his directorial debut. "I enjoyed it, and I will continue to create films," he assured.