-2013 FESTIVAL DO RIO PRESS RELEASE-
Première Brasil. Première Brasil is the only competitive section of Festival do Rio, with jury awards, Redentors, presented on the evening of closing night, Thursday10 October. Three highly prized audience awards will also be given: for best Brazilian feature film, best documentary and best short film.
Première Brasil, which has as its festival home the historic Odeon Petrobras in Cinelandia in downtown Rio de Janeiro, is the beating heart of Festival do Rio, and the best annual global showcase of contemporary Brazilian cinema.
This year’s Première Brasil competition section will screen11 feature films, eight feature length documentaries and17 shorts in competition. A further three features and five documentary features will screen hors concours, while other Brazilian productions will screen in special Première Brasil sidebars such as Portraits and New Trends.
In total, Première Brasil will screen 72 new Brazilian features and shorts, of which 21 features and documentaries are having their world premieres at Festival do Rio, 2013.
In 2012 the festival’s official jury chose Kleber Mendonça Filho’s O Som ao Redor (Neighbouring Sounds) as the best feature film of Première Brasil. The film also received the best screenplay Redentor and has now been selected to represent Brazil at next year’s Oscars.
All screenings listed are screened with English subtitles
Première Brasil – Competition – Fiction Feature Films
A ESTRADA 47 / Road 47 By Vicente Ferraz– World Premiere Brazil, Italy, Portugal, 2013. 107min
Italy, 1944. During World War II, a mine hunting squad from the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces (FEB) suffers a panic attack. Desperate, hungry and cold, the young soldiers must either face court-martial or get back to fighting. The group’s remaining personnel move on to another daring military goal: to disarm Italy’s most feared minefield. On the way, they meet a regretful Italian who wants to become a partisan and a German officer tired of war. Helped by their formerenemy, they manage to accomplish a nearly impossible mission.
Vicente Ferraz A partner at Três Mundos Produções, Ferraz directed I am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth (2004), selected for Sundance and winner of numerous awards. He made the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes with the anthology film State of the World (2007), for which he directed the episode Germano. His last film was El Último Comandante(2010).
DE MENOR / Underage By Caru Alves de Souza Brazil, 2013.77min
Helena is a recently-graduated lawyer who splits her daily life between her activities as a public defender for minors at the Santos’ Courthouse and caring for young Caio, with whom she has a harmonious relation of complicity. Their relationship is put to the test, though, when Caio commits a felony.
CaruAlves de Souza Is a director, screenwriter and producer from São Paulo. She has directed the documentaries Mascarianas(2008) and Vestígios(2011), both for TV Cultura, and two fictional shorts, Assunto de família (2011) and O Mundo de Ulim e Oilut (2012). This is her first feature-length film.
ENTRE NÓS / Sheep’s Clothing By Paulo Morelli– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.100min
Isolated in a country house, young friends decide to write and bury letters to themselves, to be opened ten years later. But after a tragedy that takes place that very same day, they lose touch for ten years. Now, this reunion will bring back old passions, new frustrations and a badly-buried secret.
Paulo Morelli Is one of the founding members, along with Fernando Meirelles, of production company 02 Films. A director and producer, he is also the creator of StoryTouch, a script analysis software. He has directed O Preçoda Paz (2004), Speaker Phone (2003) and City of Men (2007). He is currently pre-producing a TV series and his next feature film, Malasartes.
JOGO DAS DECAPITAÇÕES / The Beheading Game By Sergio Bianchi– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 96min
Leandro is a young man frustrated by his job. His master’s thesis is on the military dictatorship in Brazil. That takes him into a search for recently deceased artist Jairo Mendes’ controversial film The Beheading Game, which was censored in 1973.
Sergio Bianchi Started out his career as a photographer and has been making films since 1972. His directorial debut was the short film Omnibus. He has made seven feature, such as award-winning Chronically Unfeasible (2000), What Is It Worth? (2005) and The Tenants (Don't Like It, Leave) (2009).
MINUTOS ATRÁS / Past Minutes By CaioSóh– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 100min
Alonso and Nildo go up a road. With each step, time passes, nothing happens and they have no idea where they are headed. In a cart led by horse Ruminante, they race the clock in their last days of life. Alonso has a gift for words and Nildo is charmed by a world of possibilities. But words and ideas, although seductive, are also draining to them. Along the way, they begin to muse on life, the paths they have chosen, their regrets and interrupted dreams. They realize the nostalgia they felt for the past was of little help to them in building up a future.
CaioSóh Poet, author and director, his film debut was TeusOlhosMeus(2011), winner of awards such as Best Film at theLos Angeles Brazilian Film Festival and the audienceaward at the São Paulo International Film Festival. He isa two-time winner of Rio Theater Festival, for plays PorTrásdo Céuand MinutosAtrás.
O HOMEM DAS MULTIDÕES / The Man Of The Crowd By Marcelo Gomes, Cao Guimarães– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 95min
Juvenal is a subway machinist in Belo Horizonte. Margô controls the flow of the trains. They both live in a state of deep loneliness – each in their own way. This film is a reflection on different kinds of solitude and friendship in the Brazilian urban landscape.
Marcelo Gomes, Cao Guimarães Cao works at the crossroads of film and visual arts. His works have been shown in prestigious Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern and MoMA. Marcelo is the director of feature Cinema, Aspirinas and Vultures (2005), shown in Cannes, and prize-winner at the Rio Film Festival. He co-directed Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You (2009), best director and cinematography at Festival do Rio. In 2012, he won the Brasília Festival with Once Upon a Time Was I,Verônica.
O LOBO ATRÁS DA PORTA / A Wolf At The Door By Fernando Coimbra Brazil, 2013. 101min
A child is kidnapped. At the police station, Sylvia and Bernardo, the victim’s parents, and Rosa, Bernardo’s mistress and prime suspect, give contradictory statements that will lead us into the darker dens of these three characters’ relationships, desires, lies and perversities.
Fernando Coimbra A Cinema and Video graduate at the School of Communication of São Paulo University (ECA-USP), Coimbra works as a filmmaker and screenwriter. For nine years, he worked as an actor, playwright and video director at TeatroOficina. He wrote and directed shorts such as Trópicodas Cabras(2007) and O Rim de Napoleão(2009), for which he was awarded at festivals like Brasília, Clermont-Ferrand and Festival do Rio.
OS AMIGOS / Best Friends By LinaChamie Brazil, 2013. 89min
Without friendship there is no love. A special day in Théo’s life. In the morning, he goes to the funeral of his best childhood buddy. Throughout the day, memories make Théo look at his own life in a different way. It is Majú, a friend for whom he has great affection, who will help him to regain hope.
LinaChamie Directed the feature film The Milky Way (2007), winner of the Casa de América Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival, featured at Cannes and more than 80 other festivals. Tonic Dominant (2001) earned her a Kodak Vision Award/WIF in Los Angeles, and the São Paulo Art Critics’ Association Award for best cinematography. She went on to direct Santos – CemAnosde Futebol Arte (2012) and São Silvestre (2013).
PERISCÓPIO / Periscope By KikoGoifman– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 82min
Two men in one apartment.Fights, conflicts, irony. Eric, 76, and Élvio, 43, cannot stand one another. The youngest is a sort of assistant, secretary and nurse to the eldest. In a setting in which the outside world does not seem to exist, provocations abound. Time seems immobilized, still – and boredom is the only thing they have in common. There isn’t any inkling of hope and they seem to be only waiting for death. Until the sudden appearance of a strange object coming from the apartment downstairs. Then everything is changed.
KikoGoifman Directed 33 (2004), featured in Locarno, Rotterdam and recipient of best screenplay at Cinema Paulista FIESP/SESI; Acts of Men (2005), Berlin Festival and best documentary at the Nantes Festival; Filmephobia(2008), Locarno Festival and winner at the Brasilia Festival; and Look at Me Again (2011), Berlin Festival and special jury award at Festival do Rio. He has been honored in festivals such as Tiradentes, Santa Maria da Feira and Tampere.
QUASE SAMBA / Lyrics By Ricardo Targino– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 90min
During the last months of her pregnancy, a radio singer is torn between the two men who believe they are the father of the child. A particular duel of men: one a militiaman, the other a hacker. On top of that is Shirley, the singer’s loyal page, a cross-dresser who is already helping her raise her firstborn. Dream, love, jealousy, life and death – rather like the lyrics to the songs.
Ricardo Targino Is a director, producer and screenwriter. A journalism graduate at UFMG, he started his master’s in Communication at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. With his short Ensolarado(2010), he took part in festivals such as Berlin, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Miami, Los Angeles and received numerous best short awards at festivals including Guadalajara and Toulouse. This is his first feature-length film.
TATUAGEM / Tattoo By Hilton Lacerda Brazil, 2013.110min.
As the military regime starts to loosen its grip on Brazil (1978), we follow the romance between a young 18 year old soldier and a cultural agitator who owns an anarchist cabaret. Conflicts and reflections on a generation analyzed from its margins. Exception underscoring the vision of the rule.
Hilton Lacerda Became well-known for his screenplays for films such as Mango Yellow (2002), Rat Fever (2011), The Dead Girl's Feast (2008), Árido Movie (2006), among others, all of which featured in such festivals as Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam, Havana, BAFICI, as well as Rio, Brasilia and Gramado. WorkingwithLírio Ferreira, hedirectedCartola – Música Para Os Olhos (2007). This is his first fictional film as a director.
Première Brasil – Competition – Full Length Documentary
A FARRA DO CIRCO / Ruckus At The Circus By Roberto Berliner, Pedro Bronz– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.94min.
Featuring never-before-seen footage shot by Roberto Berliner in the 1980s, Ruckus at the Circus is a film about the generation that built CircoVoador, the dream factory. From the Arpoador sidewalk to their trip to Mexico during the 1986 World Cup, stopping at an unforgettable night in Lapa, the film presents a generation that revolutionized Brazilian culture.
Roberto Berliner, Pedro Bronz Roberto started his career at CircoVoador, where he founded Antevê, today called TV Zero. He directed Born to Be Blind (2004), Pindorama, A VerdadeiraHistória Dos SeteAnões(2007) and Herbert de Perto(2011). In 2014, he will release two fictional films: Nise da SilveiraandJulio Sumiu. Pedro is a director and editor. He edited the features Blue Eyes (2009), by José Joffily, and Imagens do Estado Novo, by Eduardo Escorel, among others. In 2011 he directed Herbert de Perto.
A GENTE / Custodians By AlyMuritiba– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.89min.
For seven years AlyMuritiba worked in a prison inBrazil. There, he was part of the Alpha Team. Afterstudying film and making some shorts, Aly returns to hisold job to be reunited with his former colleagues andmake a film about them. The Alpha Team consists of 28people, men and women of different origins and backgrounds,thatwho work as caretakers and custodians forover a thousand criminals in a Brazilian prison. Walkiubecomes the leader of the team and hopes to do agood job. But he soon realizes that his hands are tied.
AlyMuritiba Is a screenwriter, producer and director. He has directed sevenshorts, one TV movie and one feature film. With his work,he has won more than 100 awards in film festivals.Highlights to his career are the shorts A Fábrica(2012),winner of over 60 awards in festivals both local and international,an honorable mention at Clermont-Ferrand andAcademy Award semifinalist; and Pátio(2013), featured in the Cannes' Critics' Week and to be shown this year at theFestival do Rio.
CATIVAS - PRESAS PELO CORAÇÃO / CaptiveHearts By Joana Nin– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.77min.
The stories of seven free women who choose to remain captive in the name of love. In love with imprisoned men, they experience the limitations of their relationships and the hopes of one day constituting a family outside prison walls. The film examines how these marriages work, what they are capable of building up or destroying in the lives of these women. Their universe is glimpsed at through a series of emotional statements, letters lovingly adorned and privileged access to the couples’ intimate moments.
Joana Nin Nin’s cinematic debut was the short film VisitaÍntima(2005)which received 21 awards and was shown in 12 countries. In 2013 she released the short film À Luz do Dia. She was assistant-director in Silvio Da-Rin’sdocumentary feature Hércules 56 (2007). She currently teaches at the MBA in Documentary Film at FundaçãoGetúlio Vargas RJ and SP.She was executive-editor of FilmeCulturaMagazine(2009/11), editor of Fantástico/TV Globo (2007/08)and a television reporter (1995/06).
CIDADE DE DEUS - 10 ANOS DEPOIS / City Of God - 10 Years Later ByCavi Borges, Luciano Vidigal– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.69min.
City of God – 10 Years Later investigates what happened to the actors who took part in the award-winning film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund. This documentary shows what City of God’s worldwide success meant to their lives. Were the actors prepared for the film’s success? Did the social background of some of them prove stronger than the opportunity that came their way?
Cavi Borges, Luciano Vidigal Luciano is a directorandactor. He directed one of the episodes of 5x Favela, Now by Ourselves (2010) featured at Cannes. He co-directed 5x Pacificação(2012), a feature shown at the Brazilian Film Festival in Paris. Cavi is a director and producer. He has produced 82 shorts, among them A Distraçãode Ivan (2010), directed alongside Gustavo Melo, and shown at the Cannes’ Critics’ Week. He has produced features such as Craft (2010), by Gustavo Pizzi.
CONVERSA COM JH / Writer’s Block By Ernesto Rodrigues– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.93min.
A first-time, disconcerting look at the ethical, psychological and professional boundaries between biographers and their subjects, taking as its starting point journalist and writer Ernesto Rodrigues’ (author of Jogo Duro – A Históriade JoãoHavelange) own experience. The documentary, while offering a glimpse into an unknown side of the ex-Fifa president, lays bare and calls into question conflicts that arose when Ernesto, according to plan, showed him the book’s manuscript.
Ernesto Rodrigues Was an editor of newscasts JornalNacional and Jornal da Globo, director of TV shows such as GloboRepórter, chief of Globo Networks’ London branch, director of the variety show Fantásticoand an editor-in-chief in São Paulo. In 2004, he released Ayrton, O HeróiRevelado, a biography of racer AyrtonSenna. In 2006, he released the biography Jogo Duro – A História De JoãoHavelange. He was an ombudsman for TV Cultura in São Paulo and teaches news broadcasting at Puc-Rio.
DAMAS DO SAMBA / Samba Ladies By Susanna Lira– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.75min.
Since samba arose in Rio de Janeiro, the presence of women has been fundamental to its creation, maintenance and perpetuation. Muses, “pastoras”, songwriters, passistas, godmothers, carnival artists, mulatas, singers and even manual laborers, they blend into a panel of colors, feelings and sounds in representing this culture. This film is a brief tourthrough the history of some of these women, paying tribute and acknowledging their strength and contribution to the building of this plot.
Susanna Lira Graduated in Journalism, specializing in documentary.She has a post-grad degree in Human Rights. Sheis a partner at ModoOperanteProduções and hasdirected films such as Positivas(2010), best documentaryat Festival do Rio. Throughout her career, she hasworked for major TV Networks such as TV Globo,GloboNews, Canal Futura, TV Cultura, GNT,Multishow, TV Brasil and TV Al Jazeera English.
FLA X FLU/ Fla X Flu By Renato Terra– World Premiere Brazil, 2013.85min.
With statements from Zico, Assis, Leandro, Junior,Romário, Pedro Bial, Toni Platão and other rabid fans, the film invites viewers to share in one of soccer’s most charming feuds. Apart from rescuing historical footage and memorable matches from TV Globo and Canal 100, Fla x Flu alternates between passionate and personal statements from both sides, givingrise to provocations, jokes and emotions. Impartiality and analytical comments are left at the door. More than a film about soccer, this is a film about passion made for all soccer fans.
Renato Terra In 2010 co-directed, with Ricardo Calil, the documentary Uma Noiteem 67. With over 80 thousand tickets sold, the film became the highest-grossing Brazilian documentary of the year. Currently he works at PiauíMagazine. Among other activities, he is responsible for Dilma’s Diary and the Piaui Herald Blog. He is currently working with Ricardo Calil on a documentary about Carlos Imperial.
HISTÓRIAS DE ARCANJO - UM DOCUMENTÁRIO SOBRE TIM LOPES / Stories OfArcanjo - A Documentary About Tim Lopes By GuilhermeAzevedo Brazil, 2012. 84min
To celebrate life.Stories of Arcanjotells the life story of journalist ArcanjoAntonino Lopes do Nascimento, Tim Lopes, who left Rio Grande do Sul still a kid to live in Rio de Janeiro. Regarded as one of Brazil’s greatest investigative reporters, Tim is admired and revered for his singular approach to journalism. Through reunions with friends, professional colleagues and subjects of his pieces, Bruno, his son, makes his way through untold tales.
GuilhermeAzevedo Is a documentary filmmaker and has been director of photography forseveral documentary films, such as: Thiago de Mello - 70 Anosde Amazônia, O BrasilÉ O Bicho(2007), Ecos do Brasil(2010) – a documentary devoted to rescuing Brazil’s environmental memory. As a journalist, he has taken part in news coverage of national and international repercussion.
Première Brasil – Out of Competition –Fiction Features
EDUCAÇÃO SENTIMENTAL / Sentimental Education By Julio Bressane Brazil, 2013. 84min
Sentimental Education centers on the unique relationship between Áurea, a lonely 40 year old teacher, and a young man she has just met by chance – one of these encounters which mythology and literature are full of. A delicate soul who finds itself attracted to a beauty that seems to demand, disturb and move her. That shakes her up entirely. During the days following their first conversation, she will expose all her feelings through classes in which he will let himself be carried away. Until an unusual episode from the past is revealed and changes everything.Locarno Film Festival 2013.
Julio Bressane His directorial debut was Face to Face (1967). With RogérioSganzerla, he founded production company Belair, where he championed low-budget features and shot six films during a six-month period. In 2001 he was awarded at Venice Film Festival for DaysofNietzche in Turin, and returned to the festival with The Herb of the Rat (2008). A Love Movie (2003) was shown at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. Cleopatra (2007) was named best film at the Brasilia Festival.
FEIO, EU? / Ugly, Me? By Helena Ignez – World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 70min
A film-manifesto, Ugly, Me?was made after an acting workshop. Shot primarily in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, at Cinema Nosso, it also includes footage taken in Paris and Kerala (India). As diverse as a kaleidoscope, the film is comprised of images captured through several types of media and its key-concept is this very sign of diversity.
Helena Ignez Has starred in several films by RogérioSganzerla, withwhom she was married. With more than 50 years’ experienceinboth theater and film, she was honoredin 2006 at the Fribourg Film Festival, in Switzerland.In 2012, a retrospective of her work was held in the KeralaInternational Film Festival in India, and she was member ofthe Rotterdam Film Festival jury. She has directed films suchasA Miss e O Dinossauro(2005).
GATA VELHA AINDA MIA / Never Too Old To Meow By Rafael Primot – World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 90min
Gloria Polk, a bitter, decadent writer, finally decides to open up her house and grant an interview to Carol, a young journalist who lives in her building. The subject is her return to literature following a long drought. A film about women, the difficulties in relationships, growing old and writers’ maddening creative process.
Rafael Primot A film graduate at the Armando AlvaresPenteado Foundation – FAAP, he has directed, written and starred in the following works: Artifícios(2001), ProdutoDescartável(2003), DoceAmargo(2009) and Manual Para AtropelarCachorro(2005). With this last film he received 26 awards, both in Brazil and abroad, in several categories, including the Grand Prize of Brazilian Cinema.
MATO SEM CACHORRO / TheDognapper By Pedro Amorim Brazil, 2013. 90min
Deco and Zoé met when he almost ran over Guto, a dog that faints whenever he gets excited. After a twoyear relationship, Zoé dumps Deco, keeps the dog and finds herself a new boyfriend. Deco, beside himself, must try to take control of this situation and, with the help of cousin Leléo, get his dog back.
Pedro Amorim Graduated in film at NYU. He has worked as an editor in several TV series, commercials, music videos, shorts and feature films such as Vicente Amorim'sThe Middle of the World (2003) and Jayme Monjardim'sOlga (2004). In 2005, he won a best editor awardfrom MTV (VMB) for O Salto, a music video for the band O Rappa. In 2007, he directed the short Easter Sunday. He has also directed the TV series Mothern(2009) and QuaseAnônimos(2008).
Première Brasil – Out of Competition –FeatureDocumentaries
CAUBY - COMEÇARIA TUDO OUTRA VEZ / Cauby - I Would Try Again By Nelson Hoineff– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 90min
Cauby - I Would Try Again is a documentary centered on the life story of famed Brazilian singer CaubyPeixoto. The film is structured around three main pillars: the notion of an eternal starting over, patent in the singer’s repertoire; his way of singing, the timelessness of which is quite unique in Brazilian popular music; and the artist-audience-character synergy that transcends generations and makes Cauby a living legend.
Nelson Hoineff Is a journalist, film critic, producer and director, both in film and television. Among the better-known TV series and programmeshe has directed, highlights include DocumentoEspecial (awarded several times, in Brazil, Monte Carlo and Berlin), PrimeiroPlano, Realidadeand Curto-circuito. He is author of several books on television, such as A Nova Televisão
MATARAM MEU IRMÃO / They Killed My Brother By Cristiano Burlan Brazil, 2013. 77min
When filmmaker Cristiano Burlan decided to rebuild the events surrounding his brother’s death, he launched himself in a personal journey that took him into a circle of violence in the neighborhoods in the suburbs of São Paulo, such as Capão Redondo. He and his family lived there in 2001, when his brother Rafael Burlan da Silva was killed, at the age of 22 by seven gunshots. Examining the reasons of his brother’s involvement with drugs and car thefts, the director lays bare pieces of his own family history.
Cristiano Burlan Is a theater director and filmmaker. He has been active in production for over 10 years and has had the majority of his work featured in festivals such as Havana, É TudoVerdade and the São Paulo International Film Festival. He hasdirectedfilmssuch as Sinfonia de Um Homem Só (2012) andO Boto e O Homem (2012).
SERRA PELADA, A LENDA DA MONTANHA DE OURO / Serra Pelada, The LegendOf The Gold Mountain By Victor Lopes Brazil, 2013.101min
In the 1980s, at the heart of the Amazon forest, 115 thousand men dug up 100 tons of gold and carried it on their backs up a 150 meter high mountain. Now, Serra Pelada has turned into a 150 meters deep lake, surrounded by misery, quarrels and legends. The adventures of the greatest gold rush of the 20th century and the second largest concentration of human labor after the pyramids of Egypt: this story is far from over. And, underneath it all, there is a slab of gold.
Victor Lopes Is a director and screenwriter. His debut came with medium – lengthVênus de Fogo(1992), awarded in Brazil and Italy. He directed the short BalaPerdida(2003), winner of 20 awards in festivals both national and international. Língua – VidasemPortuguês(2004), his first feature, was shown in over 50 countries and awarded in Brazil and Portugal. He directed As Aventurasde Agamenon, ORepórter(2011) which sold over 950 thousand tickets.
VINTE - RIOFILME, 20 ANOS DE CINEMA BRASILEIRO / Twenty By Carlos Diegues– World Premiere Brazil, 2013. 80min
Documentary TWENTY is a celebration of two decades of Brazilian cinema, showcasing the role played by RioFilmes in its recent history. It was founded in late 1992, right after Fernando Collor’s impeachment and some time before the Audiovisual Act. RioFilme is the child of our setting as a democracy and the mother to the movement we call the “retomada”, which contributed to and set off several different periods in Brazilian cinema. This led up to current strengthening of its economy and the multiplication and diversity of its films.
Carlos Diegues One of the founders of Cinema Novo, he is a director, screenwriter and producer. Among his 17 features are classics such as Ganga Zumba(1964), Xica da Silva (1976), Bye ByeBrasil(1979) and Quilombo(1974). His films have been selected for and awarded in numerous international festivals, such as Cannes, Venice, New York, Berlin, and commercially released in many countries.
CARIOCA ERA UM RIO / Carioca Was A River By SimplícioNeto – World Premiere Brazil, 2013.74min.
A documentary on the river that lent its name to the people from Rio de Janeiro. The city’s main water supply for two centuries, the Carioca River was instrumental to the growth of this capital, but it has now been reduced to an underground sewer leading up to the Guanabara Bay. This river’s story is the story of Brazil’s urban development.
SimplícioNeto Is a documentarist, screenwriter and researcher. He wrote the screenplays to Dib (1997) and Neurópolis(2007). He directed Coruja(2001) and OndeACorujaDorme(2010). He was editor-in-chief for film retrospective catalogues held at CCBB, such as 2012’s TheMultiple Places of Roberto Farias and 2010’s Cineastes and the People’s Images, for which he was also a curator.
TÃO LONGE É AQUI / HereIsSoFar By Eliza Capai Brazil, 2013.76min.
Out of memories kept from a long voyage, a letter issent to the future. Alone, away from home and aboutto turn 30, a Brazilian woman embarks on a journeyto Africa. In her letter to her daughter, she tells ofencounters with women, their culture and times. Ajournal,a road movie and an invitation to everyonethat deals with their own paths.
Eliza Capai Is ajournalist graduated at ECA/USP and since 2001 she hasbeen directing documentaries and has worked as a correspondentin over 25 countries for Brazilian and foreignnews outlets. She made the short Georgina's Magic Wand (2008), winner of the audience award at RadioCanada's Migration contest. Shehasalsodirected TV documentariessuch as O Carnaval de Tabaré (2006),Saia Por Aí (2008), Africanas (2010), Emigrantes(2011) andCicloativistas(2012).
Première Brasil – NovosRumos/New Trends – Fiction Features
MAR NEGRO / DarkSea By Rodrigo Aragão Brazil, 2013.99min.
A strange contamination takes hold of a fishing village. When fish and crustaceans morph into horrendous death-dealing creatures, loner Albino fights for the great love of his love, putting his own soul at stake in a desperate attempt to escape and survive.
Rodrigo Aragão Is a FX makeup technician and filmmaker who began working in the 1990s. With aid from entrepreneur Hermann Pidner, he set up his own production company, FábulasNegras. He achieved certain status in the market and festival awards with films Mud Zombies (2008) and The Night of the Chupacabras(2011). He is one of the main representatives of a new generation of genre filmmakers working in Brazil.
O EXERCÍCIO DO CAOS / The ExerciseOfChaos By Frederico Machado Brazil, 2013.71min.
With shades of an existentialist suspense, The Exercise of Chaos tells the story of a somber, tyrannical father who lives with his three teenage daughters in a cassava farm in innermost Maranhão. The family feels the mother’s absence, while they have to deal with the strict orders of a strange foreman who exploits them. Meanwhile, the man hunts the innocenceof the girls, who are torn between the illusion of childhood and the harsh reality of their lives. While the family axis crumbles little by little, the characters find themselves between madness and reason, chaos and faith.
Frederico Machado Is the founder and director of LumeFilmes International Festival. Since 2007, he has been active in film distribution, as well as homevideo and television, focused on independent auteur films. He wrote and directed the medium-length film Litania da Velha(1997) and shorts Infernos (2006) and Vela AoCrucificado(2009). This is his first feature film, and the first installment of his Dante Trinity Trilogy. He is currently overseeing post-production of O Signo das Tetas.
O MENINO E O MUNDO / The Boy And The World By Alê Abreu Brazil, 2013.80min
Heartbroken by his father’s absence, a boy leaves his village and discovers a fantastic world ruled by machine animalsand strange beings. A peculiar animation made from several artistic techniques to portray modern world issues through the eyes of a child.
Alê Abreu In the 1990s, after obtaining a degree in social communication, he made the shorts Sírius(1993) and Espantalho(1998). In 2008, he released the feature GarotoCósmicoand short Passo, featured in the most important animation festivals around the world. In 2007, he was one of the artists honored by Anima Mundi, which hosted a retrospective of his works.
O RIO NOS PERTENCE / Rio BelongsToUs By Ricardo Pretti Brazil, 2013.75min
After receiving a strange postcard, 30-year-old Marina decided to return to her hometown of Rio de Janeiro after an absence of 10 years. Marina doesn’t really know why she came back: she seeks answers to strange occurrences, but everything seems to get more and more muddled. Rio seems to be under a mysterious spell. This film is part of Operation Sonia Silk, a feature-length trilogy produced collaboratively featuring the same cast and crew, co-produced by Canal Brasil and Teleimage. Rotterdam Film Festival 2013.
Ricardo Pretti Is a member of Ceará-based production company,Alumbramento. He shoots his films collectively, in quartets, trios and duos as well as solo outings, and particular highlights include the Pretti/Parenti quartet films Estrada paraYthaca(2010), featured at the Venice Film Festival, OsMonstros(2011) and No Lugar Errado(2011). He is one of the creators of the Sonia Silk Operation, for which he wrote Rio Belongs to Us. Two-time best editor award winner at Brasilia Festival.
O UIVO DA GAITA / Harmonica'sHowl By Bruno Safadi Brazil, 2013.70min
A love story between Antonia, Luana and Pedro. The Rio de Janeiro harbor, the famous Oscar Niemeyer designed Casa das Canoas and an idyllic Niterói beach with a stunning view of Rio are the locations where these characters wander and carry out their very contemporary longings. This film is part of Operation Sonia Silk, a feature-length trilogy producedcollaboratively featuring the same cast and crew, co-produced by Canal Brasil and Teleimage. Rotterdam Film Festival 2013.
Bruno Safadi Started his career directing shorts and his filmography includes Na IdadeaImagem(2002) and Uma Estrela PraIoiô(2004), featured at the Rotterdam Film Festival. He directed feature films such as MeuNome é Dindi(2007), Belair(2010), also shown at the Rotterdam Film Festival, and Éden(2013), awarded at Festival do Rio and the Gramado Festival.
RIO CIGANO / Gypsy River By Julia Zakia – World Premiere Brazil, 2013.80min
A tale of complicity between two gypsy girls, Kaiaand Reka, who were violently separated in childhoodandraised in distant worlds. During a trip, thegypsies find themselves with no other alternative butto cross through a count’s farm, from where they areexpelled. While running, one of the girls gets lostand is kidnapped by the farmer. She is raised in thefarm’s mansion as a servant to the countess.Absorbed by her work, she grows up deeply connected to what little memories she has of gypsy life.Kaia, however, is brought up by her own family untilshe leaves camp to look for Rekaon her own.
Julia Zakia Graduated in film at the School for Communication andArts of São Paulo University (USP), having specialized indirecting and cinematography. She directed six shorts featuredin festivals both national and international, such as OChapéudo MeuAvô(2004), A Estóriada Figueira(2006),Tarabatara(2007) and PedraBruta(2009). Gypsy River is her feature-length directorial debut.
Première Brasil – Retratos/Portraits – Features
EM BUSCA DE IARA / Looking For Iara By Flavio Frederico Brazil, 2013.91min
Through a personal investigation conducted by herniece Mariana, this film rescues from obscurity thelife of guerilla fighter IaraIavelberg. A cultured,beautiful woman who left behind a comfortable familylife, opting instead to engage in the armed combatagainst the dictatorship. Living a routine of kidnappingsand armed action, she was involved withformer captain Carlos Lamarca. That made her oneof the most prized targets to the repression forces.The film demolishes the regime’s official version thatattributes her 1971 death to suicide.
FlavioFrederico Studied Architecture and Filmmaking at São PauloUniversity. He made several award-winning shorts featured in festivals such as Sundance and Rotterdam. His first featurefilm, Urbania(2001), was shown at Montreal,Rotterdam and Mannheim. He also directed five documentaries,among them the winner of É TudoVerdade 2006,Caparaó. In 2010, he released Boca at the Festival doRio, winning awards for cinematography and editing.
MÁRIO LAGO/ Mário Lago By Marco Abujamra, Markão Oliveira – World Premiere Brazil, 2013.94min
A biopic of one of the greatest Brazilian artist in the20th century.MárioLago was a writer, playwright,songwriter and actor. His lyrics and opinions helpedchange whole generations, never giving up the lucidityand charisma so typical of the true Carioca.Adynamic film featuring rare archival footage, interviews,songs and bits of trivia relating to a completeartist, his history and the passing of time.
Marco Abujamra, MarkãoOliveira Marco Abujamra is a directorandscreenwriter. Among hisworks, highlights include the documentary JardsMacalé -Um Morcego Na Porta Principal (2008), a special juryaward winner at Festival do Rio. He also got a Shell awardfor the musical direction of play O Auto da Compadecida,directed by Antonio Abujamra. Markão Oliveira is a filmmakerand cinematographer. Among his works, highlightsinclude cinematography for A Vida é Um Sopro(2007).
MAZZAROPI/ Mazzaropi By CelsoSabadin Brazil, 2013. 105min
The life and works of AmácioMazzaropi. Known as thegreatest comedian in Brazilian cinema, he was the onlyartist who actually became a millionaire making films inBrazil. He made real the dream of a film industry in thecountry by starring in popular productions that weresmashing box-office hits over the spam of three decades.
CelsoSabadin Is a journalist, screenwriter, professor, producer anddirector. As a screenwriter, he has worked at TV channels Bandeirantes, Cultura and Gazeta. He wrote the screenplayfor the short film NemIsso, based on a work by Luis Fernando Veríssimo. Mazzaropiis his first feature film.
OZUALDO CANDEIAS E O CINEMA / Ozualdo Candeias And The Cinema By Eugenio Puppo Brazil, 2013. 103min
This documentary reconstructs the life story of a truckdriver who became one of Brazil’s greatest filmmakers.Candeias himself is the narrator for his story, andlittle by little he lays bare his style and genius. Thebackgroundis the diverse periods of Brazilian cinemaand Boca do Lixo, in São Paulo, a majorproduction hub during the 1970s.
Eugenio Puppo Director, screenwriter and producer, he is a founding memberof HecoProduções, based in São Paulo since 1995. He produced film retrospectives Ozualdo R. Candeias –80 Years, Marginal Cinema and its Borders, NelsonRodrigues and the Cinema, among others. His most recentfilms are the documentary São Miguel do Gostoso(2011)and the short film O Homem Sensorial (2013), also selectedto the Festival do Rio this year.
SINAIS DE CINZA, A PELEJA DE OLNEY CONTRA O DRAGÃO DA MALDADE / Signs Of Gray, Olney’s Battle Against The Dragon Of Evil By Henrique Dantas Brazil, 2013.86min
This film tries to showcase the importance of OlneySão Paulo’s cinematic achievements, and the absurdand terrible deeds committed against him by the dictatorialregime. A “caboclo” from the backwoods, Olneywanted to change the world through his revolutionarycinema. He died after a long period of tortures, victimof his own fearless positions.
Henrique Dantas Is a Visual Arts graduate at the School of Fine Arts ofBahia Federal University (UFBA), and has a degree inManagement from UNIFACS. He has also a master’sdegree in Visual Arts at UFBA, where he developed hisresearch paper “Appropriations and Interventions with DailyShadows”. He hasdirectedfilmssuch as Ser Tão Cinzento, best short at É Tudo Verdade 2012, andthefeatureFilhosde João, Admirável Mundo Novo Baiano (2009).
-2013 FESTIVAL DO RIO PRESS RELEASE-
Edited by Vanessa McMahon