Despite its near perfect climate, Brazil has still to have its day in the sun, even if over the decades its soccer, its music, its coffee and its women have brought so much joy into the hearts of so many.
That Brazil is misunderstood by the world at large is not the fault of the country or its people, but rather the commitment of the international media to cover, or rather not to cover, a country that ranks top ten in most world lists from population and size to the fact that it stands on the threshold of becoming the world's third largest audio-visual market behind the US and Japan.
When it comes to film, people will mention Flying Down To Rio and possibly Blame It On Rio, and if when pushed to list a Brazilian film might remember Kiss of the Spider Woman, Pixote, or Dona Flor and talk in vague terms about Cinema Nova, Sonia Braga, Xuxa and possible O Quatrilho, a film by Fabio Barreto which was nominated this year for a foreign language Academy Award.
It seems that Brazil often attacks things with a certain 'wham, bam, thank you man...' attitude that meant that from holding hardly any rock concerts it held the word's biggest festival, Rock'n'Rio, and followed that by constantly holding a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest concert audiences ever seen. So it is ironic that it has been a small unassuming event called Rio Cine Festival that has gradually built itself up over the years to become one of the most important stops on the calendar for anyone interested in Latin American cinema, television or video, and this is a trend that looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future with every possibility that AFMA itself might encourage a regional market to coincide with the event next year.
In its early years Rio Cine Festival sat in the shadows of FestRio, one of the most beloved competitive festivals of all time, despite only holding six fairly loose and chaotic editions from 1984 to 1989. Yet it is rare that you meet anyone who attended those events who looks back with anything but affection for the event, the city and the people of Brazil.
FestRio discovered Percy Adlon's Out of Rosenheim and new up-and-coming directors like Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee, John Duigan and Paul Cox. In its second year it gave its top prize to Stephen Frears' My Beautiful Launderette; it spotlighted Chinese cinema in 1988 before it was fashionable, and introduced Jonathan Demme to Jodie Foster in 1987 so that the world could later be silenced by the lambs. With the demise of FestRio in 1989, Rio Cine festival started to emerge from the shadows and find its feet, and in the 90s has firmly established itself in the city's cultural calendar.
While other festivals came and went, the organisers of Rio Cine mapped out a plan to make their event not only an important cultural gathering for the city but one that could actually make a real impact on the film and television community, both in Brazil and overseas. That is the position it has now attained as it prepares to open its doors to the world for the 12th consecutive year, not only for industry management and talent but also the general public who will be led on a voyage of discovery as a number of new productions for both the big and small screen are unveiled for the first time in Brazil.
What could be more appropriate in the town that is home to Great Train Robber and accomplished film buff, Ronald Biggs, than for the festival to open with the Brazilian premiere of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting?
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