Artists' Television Access

Colectivo Cinema Errante presents: “Brazilian voices of cinema”

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 8:00 pm, $6

À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma

[At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul]
(José Mojica Marins, 1964, 105 min)
Coffin Joe, an undertaker, believes in the “continuity of the blood.” A sadist, he prowls the city in search of a woman to bear him an immortal child, while terrorizing people.

Zé do Caixão está a procura da mulher perfeita pra dar luz a seu filho, e aterroriza uma pequena cidade com suas práticas sadísticas.

Amor Só de Mãe [Love from Mother Only]
(Dennison Ramalho, 2003, Brasil, 21 mins)
A macabre tale of lust, motherly affection and macumba shot with conviction and style.
Uma história macabre de amor de mãe.

 

Brazilian voices of cinema

Brazil helped pioneer filmmaking in the Americas, screening its first film in Rio de Janeiro all the way back in 1897, and its first documentary in 1903. The approach for this series was to strike a balance between art house and commercial film and, by covering different eras, genres and styles, touch  upon various cornerstones of Brazilian cinema.  Silent film began in Brazil with Antônio Leal’s thriller “Os  Estranguladores” (1906); followed by Humberto Mauro’s “Brasa Dormida” (1928)  and “Ganga Bruta” (1933); Adalbert Kememy’s avant-garde “Sao Paulo: Sinfonia de una Metropoli” (1929); and Mario Peixoto’s avant-garde “Limite” (1930).

In the ‘40s Brazilian cinema became overrun by Hollywood films. Companhia Cinematografica de Veracruz, a replica of the American studio system, produced mostly melodramas – Lima Barreto’s “O Cangaçeiro” (1953) obtained critical and financial success. In the ‘60s a movement called Cinema Novo came to dominate for two decades.  A move away from the Hollywood production style, it was led by intellectuals like Glauber Rocha — “Antonio das Mortes” (1969) — who sought to create a distinctly Brazilian mode of filmmaking. In 1967, Ozualdo Candeias’ “A Margem” gave birth to Cinema Marginal, that sought to represent the life of society’s forgotten people. “Cinema Novo was a movie a little individualistic,” said José Mojica Marins,  a marginais on his own whose Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe) horror b-movies would become cult classics.

The creation of Embrafilme, a government agency in charge of financing and  distribution, allowed Brazilian cinema to flourish during the 1970s and  ‘80s. Bruno Barreto’s “Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos” (1976) and Carlos Diegues’ “Bye Bye Brasil” (1980) belong to this period.  Embrafilme’s dissolution in 1990 nearly stopped cinematic output in Brazil altogether. Still, figures like Walter Salles, Fernando Meirelles and Karim Ainouz — “Madame Satã” (2002) — were able to produce films despite the adversities.

We are accompanying the series with shorts by three emerging local voices: Carolina Moraes-Liu, Rita Piffer and Savana Vagueiro, along with shorts by  renowned Brazilian filmmakers Jorge Furtado, Dennison Ramalho and Carlos Vergara. A lot of voices to choose from that leave the door open for a second  installment next year. We hope you enjoy the programs.

—Colectivo Cinema Errante