We are all pretenders. We pretend for others, sometimes pretending for ourselves first. And we are all readers, who read without empathy, without relating to the written words. In this short film, inspired by Fernando Pessoa's poem Autopsicografia, we rationalize everything we feel, thereby ceasing to feel. We stop giving ourselves over without fear or reservation, stop taking risks with sincerity. Like children.

"The Lurking Fear" interviews Portuguese citizens whose lives where hit by the torture of its fascist political police.