S. Bernardo
The story of Paulo Honório, a poor ploughman who becomes a rich farmer. Obsessed by his desire to get even richer, he doesn't pay much attention to his wife, Madalena, a teacher who reacts against his tyrannical ways.
Leon Hirszman
Casts & Crew
Othon Bastos
Isabel Ribeiro
Nildo Parente
Jofre Soares
Rodolfo Arena
Joseph Guerreiro
Vanda Lacerda
Mário Lago
Also Directed by Leon Hirszman
Chronicles the life of a 17 year-old girl living in the upper-class Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Ipanema. Márcia lives a life of parties and spend her days among bohemians, musicians and intellectuals. While seeming happy in the outside, she's extremely anguished inside. Based on the famous song by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.
Statistics, interviews and historical information on illiteracy and inequality in land distribution in Brazil's countryside.
Part 1 of the "Images of the Unconscious" documental series.
Film in four segments: "Colagem", "Balanço", "Bandeira Zero" and "Sexta-Feira da Paixão, Sábado de Aleluia", having in common a strongly allegorical and gross protest tone in the approach of its subjects.
Didactic documentary on the History of Brazil
Between 1974 and 1976, while researching for his filme "S. Bernardo", Leon Hirszman shot three documentary shorts produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Education on the chores of the men who worked in the sugar cane fields in the town of Feira de Santana, in the cocoa fields of Itabuna, and in the efforts of building households in Chã Preta.
The history of Partido-Alto, a musical subgenre derived from Samba, with roots in the batucada of Bahia.
ABC of a Strike captures the 1979 metal workers strikes outside of São Paulo. The footage sat untouched until after the death of highly-regarded director Leon Hirszman in 1987, by which time the material had a new relevance. The gripping film captures the negotiations between the labor unions and the factory bosses and shows the birth of the region’s Worker’s Party, as well as the emergence of its charismatic leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Rising from extreme poverty, Lula gained national prominence as a union activist during the late 70s and early 80s. After being jailed during his time as a union leader, he eventually becomes Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010.