A dense atmosphere of change and union strikes in Porto’s fishing port. Clara, the owner of a fishermen’s bar threatened by closure, finds in the arms of Raquel, an employee on cruise ships, the only shelter to express her fears and contradictions.

Inspired by the work of Bertolt Brecht and filmed in Porto's former industrial slaughterhouse, A Santa Joana dos Matadouros is a meta-cinematic essay about the labor market in times of economic crisis in Europe. The film explores the possibilities of cinema in its relationship with theater and brings together a cast of professional actors, amateurs, renowned artists from various disciplines, and a group of unemployed residents of Vale de Campanhã.