The review of Brazilian cinema is co-organised by Urszula Groska Produçoes and the curator of this section is the Brazilian film critic - Luiz Carlos Merten. Special patron of the event is Polish director – Krzysztof Zanussi. The presentation of the most significant productions from the Amazon country is intended to show not only the diversity of the nation’s cinematography, but also to portray its latest trends.
You can not do this without several films from the Retomada - the trend started by the film Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil (Carlota Joaquina - Princesa do Brazil) by Carla Camurati (1995), an original and trash-comic vision of Brazilian history, questioning national myths. Although it may seem random, the selection of the most interesting pieces of the Retomada follows a distinct concept. Apart from Carlota Joaquina, which has become a classic although it is hardly known in Poland, we will also show City of God (Cidade de Deus) (2002) - a film by Fernando Meirelles, which brought Brazilian cinema to an international public; and The Trespasser (O Invasor) by Beto Brant (2002) - a response to Meirelles’s film, describing the invasion of peripheries into the centre of power and finance.
Presentation of the latest trends will also include Brazilian productions of recent years: films which were real events at international festivals. Movies, Aspirin and Vultures (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus) by Marcelo Gomes (2005) is a road movie dialoguing with cinema novo, a trend which made Brazilian cinema famous in the 1960s. The 2006 film by Karim Ainouz, Suely in the Sky (O Céu de Suely) has a similar tone, but it is much more intimate. Mutum by Sandra Kogut (2007) rediscovers Sertao - semi-arid region in North-Eastern Brazil, which inspired Guimaraes Rosa, one of the most distinguished authors of Brazilian literature. Cao sem Dono by Beto Brant and Renato Ciasci (2007) discusses inter-personal relations in modern Brazil. The Milky Way (A Via Láctea) by Lina Chamie (2007) and Not by Chance (Nao por Acaso) by Philippe Barcinski (2007) are two different portraits of Brazil’s biggest metropolis, so they can be confronted with the known, classical Sao Paulo S.A. by Luiz Sérgio Person (1965). Santiago and Playing (Jogo de Cena) are documentaries which explore the borderline between fact and fiction and discuss the art documentary film making itself. 33, referring to the film noir, transforms a documentary into a personal experience. The Hills of Disorder (Serras da Desordem) by Andrea Tonacci (2006) is a feature film, but very close to a documentary. It starts with the Indian issue and explores both national and artistic identity. Carandiru by the winner of numerous awards, Hector Babenco, (2003) is based on a true story depicted in the memoirs of a prison doctor and shows the callousness of the Brazilian penitentiary system.
Another important element of the review of Brazilian cinema will be a selection of short films. This will include among others the animated Vida Maria by Marcio Ramos (2006), describing the situation of women in North-Eastern Brazil; a response to the classical film by Jean-Luc Godard in Paulinho Caruso’s Alphaville 2007 D.C. (2007); and also Sete minutos by Cavi Borges, Julio Pecly and PAulo Silva (2007), showing the last seven minutes of the life of a child involved in drug trafficking.
The following directors will be present at the festival: Thomas Farkas, Phillipe Barcinski, Sandra Kogut, Lina Chamie, Kiko Goifmann and Lirio Ferreira. The festival will be also visited by Luiz Carlos Merten - jornalist and film critic, Danilo Miranda - Director of SESC, José Carlos Avelar - writer, film critic, and counselor of Programa Petrobrás Cultural, Kátia Machado - COO Vereda Filmes and the representatives of Programa Cinema do Brasil, Ancine and Brazilian Ministério da Cultura, Secretaria de Audiovisual.
