Walter Carvalho
Meteorango Kid – O Herói Integalático, by André Luiz Oliveira, is a cult movie made in Bahia, awarded at the 1969 Brasília Festival and censored by the dictatorship. Meteorango Kid: alive or dead is a documentary about the film and its effects on the lives of other artists. André Luiz and musician Tuzé de Abreu, in the company of friends from the generation who used to go crazy, guide us in this search and reveal the mysteries of the invention of this iconic character of countercultural youth.
When witnessing a hit, Arandir, a newly married banker, tries to succor the victim, but the man, almost dead, has only time to make one last request: a kiss. Arandir kisses the man, but his act is spotted by his father-in-law Aprígio and photographed by Amado Ribeiro, a tabloid reporter.
Luzimar cycles each day to and from work at the local cotton mill in his hometown of Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He is a hard-working man, trying to make the most of what he has. One day, his childhood friend Gildo reappears, driving a fancy car and boasting of his successful life in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo. As the two sit down for a beer, memories, regrets and old resentments slowly resurface... but at the root of all the tension is a painful childhood secret that needs be told. With cinematography by the inimitable Walter Carvalho (Central Station), Whirlpool has a rich visual style that gives an extraordinary depth of feeling to the story of this industrial town and its inhabitants.
The sierras of southern Brazil, 1963. The son of an French man and a Brazilian woman, Tony is a young man with a profound love of cinema and poetry. After graduating from college he returns to his small town in rural Brazil, to find out that his father had left for good, back to France. Tony then looks for the company of his fathers friends in search of information and references of a lost male role-model. He becomes a school teacher and a male figure to kids, in an attempt to provide them with something he lacks himself. A series of developments lead him to a surprising final lead on his fathers' whereabouts and reasons for leaving.
People who moved from São Paulo, a large city, to the countryside, come back to see a play. Later, they learn the driver of their chartered bus has disappeared. Now, on the street, at night, they have to face themselves.
Cacaso, a Brazilian poet, lived in Rio de Janeiro. Born Antonio Carlos de Brito (1944-1987) he was one of the leaders of the marginal poetry movement. Cacaso filled notebooks not only with poems but reflections, drawings and collages. He also became a lyricist and partner of celebrated songwriters such as Tom Jobim, Edu Lobo, Toninho Horta, João Donato and Sivuca.
Set in the 1950s, the plot follows the fictional creation of the first Brazilian TV station.
We live in a new age. We are always rushing, rushing for no reason, rushing for nothing. As though time had sped up. Everything implies speed, urgency. But ultimately, why does time seem so short? This film is about the director’s conflict about time and the lack of it in today’s world; she reflects on civilization and the future of existence.
An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers such as Ruy Guerra, Julio Bressane, Ken Loach, Andrzej Wajda, Karim Ainouz, José Padilha, Hector Babenco, Vilmos Zsigmond, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Jia Zhangke. They all respond to two basic questions: why do they make movies and why do they serve the seventh art. The filmmakers share their thoughts about time, narrative, rhythm, light, movement, the meaning of tragedy, the audience‘s desires and the boundaries with other forms of art.
A lyrical look at Antonio Nóbrega’s universe. A lifetime’s work that is characterized by the consistent reading of popular culture. A show in which all elements of our culture are mixed together. A musical and visual journey, guided by the characters Joáo Sidurino and Rosalina from the plays Brincante and Segundas Histórias.
The movie depicts the political crisis that led to the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas, in the 19 days that preceded August 24, 1954. The crisis began with the attempted assassination of journalist and politician Carlos Lacerda in August 5, 1954, at rua Toneleros, Rio de Janeiro, in which Major Vaz was assassinated instead. Investigations pointed to Gregório Fortunato, chief of Vargas' personal guard, as the orderer of the frustrated assassination. This incident was one of the most importants in the history of Brazil.
The mystery surrounding the murder of a seductive and ambitious axé performer during one of her concerts.
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.
Zizo, a radical and anarchist poet living in a marginal quarter of Recife in the north eastern state of Pernambuco, distributes his social angst-filled thoughts through a publication named Febre do Rato, and spews poetry to anyone who’d listen. Our character always revolves within the universe that he has created around himself. A very particular world, in which satisfying the unfortunate is a mixture of a kind of benefit with high dose of malice.
This is the story of Vicente, a successful, married, economist with a nine-year-old son. It also tells the story of Antônio, the same man, living as a hugadores—one of the homeless, trash scavengers who live and work in Brazil’s enormous garbage dumps. Vicente seems to have it all, but as we watch his life begins to crumble little by little. Meanwhile, Antônio, already at rock bottom, struggles to rebuild his life.
José Henrique Fonseca crafts an ambitious and long overdue homage to a central icon in Brazil’s 20th century history. Reminiscent of film noir classics, the biopic tells the glorious and tragic story of the legendary football striker Heleno de Freitas. The sumptuous black and white cinematography reflects the chic life of Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s as it fell under the spell of sports royalty. Heleno was no doubt one of the most popular players of his time for his bravura in the field and magnificent goal-scoring that lead the Botafogo team to the top and himself into a vicious downward spiral.
As the world boiled in the rush of Easy Rider bikes, in the frenetic pace of Elvis Presley, in Beatniks poets, in the explosion of counterculture, a boy from Bahia gave birth to Rock in Brazil. A runaway flying saucer that abducted the hearts and minds of thousands of fans, Raul Seixas, a man who became a myth. Raul died young because he lived intensely. Rock n 'roll, free love, alternative society, drugs, black magic, military dictatorship, women and daughters. A man who wanted to live from his work and died for it. The beginning, the end and the middle are confused, because the story is not over. The film reveals through rare images of archive, meeting with relatives, conversations with artists, producers and friends, the trajectory of the legend of Rock.
Jessica, Sabrina and Daiane have dreams, just like all young people of any social class or place in the world. They live in a low-income neighborhood in the periphery of Rio de Janeiro and find in prostitution a way to survive and satisfy their consumer desires. However, even faced with the trials of absolute uncertainty and lack of hope, Jessica, Sabrina and Daiane insist on loving, having fun and planning their future.
José Costa is a Brazilian ghost writer. Returning from a ghost writers convention his airplane is rerouted to Budapest. His life is also rerouted when he meets Krista and with her help, learns "the only language in the world which, according to the tongue-wagers, the devil respects.
The names of the characters are pronouns. She is a teacher, with his father dead just three days ago. Faced with this situation, He intends to take care of her while He is alive. This is the beginning of an odd relationship.
Through conversations held with fifty four of the most distinguished cinematographers working in Brazil and abroad over the last forty years, the documentary explores the working environment, the new tools and the different styles of the professional who controls the light and the shades behind the camera.
A host of personalities reminisce about the life and work of songwriter, lawyer, and congressman Humberto Teixeira — aka "Baião Doctor" — the author of such classic Brazilian popular songs as "Asa Branca". A musical film about the baião, a movement in Brazilian music in the 1940s and 1950s that was later snowed under by samba and bossa nova.
An evening in an old time dance hall in Sao Paulo introduces us to local characters who reminisce about the past, wonder about the future, have fun, flirt, fight and, of course, dance. Its earthy humour and eternal themes of ageing, loneliness and desire is an antidote to grumpy old men and women everywhere.
Documentary about Santiago, a peculiar man who used to work for the director and his parents as a butler. The material was filmed in 1992 but, for some strange reason, the director felt he couldn't edit it and put it aside. In 2005 he remembers the unfinished film and starts its edition.
Documentary about the great Brazilian photographers who helped develop Brazilian cinema and their opinions on their work, making movies in Brazil and in general, and other subjects. As a bonus, they all agreed to shoot the same scene following their individual concepts, and the result is shown for comparison.
A man falls in love with a teenage girl, who is exploited by her own grandfather, who sometimes takes her to a gas station to show her naked to whomever pays him some money.
In Nordestina, a small town lost in the Brazilian badlands, young Karina dreams of becoming an actress and leaving to explore the world. Before losing his love, Dona Nazaré’s son, Antônio, takes the first step in a kamikaze crusade to bring the world to Karina. For that, Antônio leaves town and announces, in a TV show that he will set off on a sensational adventure: a trip into the future, starting from Nordestina’s square. A story where dreams contradict reality, geographical and political conditions threaten to block life, and love plays the part of the transforming element.
Facing many problems, such as impaired hearing and speaking, abnormal bone formation and poverty, Brazilian black naïve artist Moacir lives in the National Park of Chapada dos Veadeiros, aloof and oblivious of outside world, and was discovered by director Walter Carvalho in the 1980s. He spends his days drawing marvellous works with his crayons, depicting human and fantastic beings, fauna, flora, his own inner visions, mystical themes and sex, with a trace of impressive primitivism and beauty. The film registers his daily life.
In northern Brazil, Hermila patiently waits for her husband. However, he has abandoned her. Sexy, restless and resolute, she raffles off "a night in paradise" with herself. This beautifully-shot portrait doesn't shy away from the burdens of a young scarred woman, but it also celebrates her courage to live according to her own rules.
The old servant and chronicler Dom Sabas tells how his desolate South American town is the scene of a ruthless power struggle. The landowning Assis family, reduced to a widow and son, tries to hold out against the young, despotic mayor. No less effective then actions are anonymous rumors and accusations, which often stir the inhabitants' moves.
Inspired by the moving book “Só as Mães São Felizes”, by Lucinha Araújo, Cazuza's mother, the film covers a little more than 10 years of the singer’s crazy and brief life – from the beginning of his career in the Circo Voador venue, in 1981, to the huge success and the apotheosis of his shows with the Barão Vermelho band, his solo career, his relations with his parents, friends, lovers and passions, and the courage he had to face his final years, with HIV, until his death, in 1990.
Documentary about Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, one of the most important names in the Cinema Novo, with interviews with some of his friends and colleagues.
When a doctor decides to carry out an AIDS prevention program inside Latin America’s largest prison: the Casa de Detenção de São Paulo - Carandiru, he discovers the victim of one of the darkest days in Brazilian History when the State of São Paulo’s Military Police, with the excuse for law enforcement, shot to death 111 people. Based on real facts and on the book written by Dráuzio Varella.
Three friends, Hilda, Matilda and Gaspar, meet in a rundown downtown apartment during a weekend to chat, drink and experience pleasure.
In a poor neighborhood in Recife, the lives of exotic and bizarre characters entwine in a bar and in a very low-budget hotel. The queer Dunga works in the hotel and has a crush on the butcher Wellington that is married with the religious Kika and has an affair with his mistress Dayse. The sick necrophiliac Isaac owns a yellow Mercedes Benz and wants to have sex with Lígia that owns of Bar Avenida.
A story inspired by the life of one of the most remarkable figures in Brazilian popular culture, João Francisco dos Santos (1900-1976). In turn, bandit, transvestite, street fighter, brothel cook, convict and father to seven adopted children, dos Santos – better known as Madame Satã – was also a notorious gay performer who pushed social boundaries in a volatile time.
Claudia Maccari, an Italian doctor who has a Brazilian adopted son suffering from leukemia, goes to Rio de Janeiro to find the child's biological mother for a transplant. She is reluctantly helped by a Detective.
The story of André, the rebel runaway son from a dominant Lebanese-Brazilian family who returns to the nest after a few years. "Lavoura Arcaica" deals with melodramatic themes of tyrannical fathers, incest and fierce family conflicts, matched by an overheated and intense visual style.
Nineteen people with differing degrees of visual impairment – from mild nearsightedness to total blindness – discuss how they see themselves, how they see others and how they perceive the world. Unusual images, of burning trees or empty deserts, link the interviews, which vary from deep to funny to poetic.
Fifteen year ago, Carlos went to the cinema to meet Júlia, his university colleague with whom he was in love. She never showed up. Carlos was left waiting in the lobby alone. While he waits, something happens which will change his life. A scene, an encounter, an unfinished sentence... Something insignificant, but which will determine the character's life. Fifteen years later, we follow three completely different versions of Carlos's life. In one, he is a man divided between the stability of a secure life in a lukewarm marriage, and the growing desire to live a great love affair. In the second, he is homosexual and places passion above all else. In the third possible life, Carlos is a man who hasn't yet discovered love, and lives through successive disastrous relationships in search of the perfect woman. One of them is his real life. Another is not his life. And a third is the life he'd like to lead. Which is his true life ?
Brazilian badlands, April 1910. Tonho is ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother. The young man knows that if he commits this crime, his life will be divided in two: the twenty years he has already lived and the few days he has left to live, before the other family avenges their son's death. He is torn between fulfilling his ancestral duty and rebelling against it, urged by his younger brother Pacu. That's when a tiny travelling circus passes through the vast badlands where Tonho's family lives.
When the inmate Maria do Socorro Nobre reads an article about the Polish artist Franz Krajcberg in Veja magazine, she decides to write a letter to him. Socorro was sentenced to more than twenty-one years in a prison for women in Salvador, Bahia, while Franz is a tormented artist that lost his family and lived his childhood in a ghetto in Poland but survived the Holocaust. Franz moved to Brazil and recovered life wish living close to nature and inspires Socorro to dream with life again.
The film tells the story of an intuitive, adventurous man who loved his country and being Brazilian. This man fought to be loyal to himself. His music is a transparent portrait of his genius, intuition, freedom, adventure and passion for Brazil.
Documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped into a daily war that knows no winners.
An emotive journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
Luiza is an architect who just got out of a ruined relationship. Gabriel is a biologist and he has finished a long-term marriage with divorce. When they both meet, chances that they can do well together are not that big. But they will try to, even if their friends Barata (a convict bachelor totally skeptical when it comes to love) and Marta (a mathematic analyst who wishes that human relations were just as exact as numbers are). Written by Pedro Aguiar
After the death of his mother, a young Brazilian decides to leave his country and travel to her native land. In a foreign land, he finds love and danger.
An aging Brazilian actor teams up with a film student on a trip to Mexico, in order to find out an unknown movie his mother allegedly watched before she committed suicide.
A kind wanderer living around a circus, who also happens to work as a modern Robin Hood, must solve the mystery behind the kidnapping of a lost little girl he meets.
A real state agency wishes to buy and demolish the traditional school Matheus Rose, to use the lot to build a hotel. The proposition unleashes a feel of distrust among the school students and staff, especially with the arrival of new, mysterious students.
Four years after a military coup overthrew the Brazilian government in 1964, all civil rights were suspended and torture became a systematic practice. Using a mix of fiction and documentary this extraordinary film is a searing record of personal memory, political repression and the will to survive. Interviews with eight women who were political prisoners during the military dictatorship are framed by the fantasies and imaginings of an anonymous character, portrayed by actress Irene Ravache.
Milionário and José Rico are robbed of their money and their fans' enthusiasm. But a female truck driver is out to help them.
In the 40s, a sergeant is ordered to escort a political prisoner from Paulo Afonso to Aracaju, Brazil. During the trip, there's a change in the Government and he is ordered to release the prisoner. But he decides to go all the way.
Somewhere in Rio Grande do Norte's countryside, Brazil, the wealthy farmer Elói Dantas (Álvaro Guimarães) decides to increase his patrimony even further by exploiting ores. To do this, he tries to appropriate the small site of Antônio Vaqueiro (José Marinho). Desperate, Antônio rushes to the aid of the gypsy healer Maria dos Remédios (Luiza Maranhão) and the poet and dreamer Tião Poeta (Lenicio Queirogo) to face the greed of Elói.
Documentary about Flamengo, one of the most popular soccer teams in Brazil
The rare short film presents a curious dialogue between filmmaker Julio Bressane and actor Grande Otelo, where, in a mixture of decorated and improvised text, we discover a little manifesto to the Brazilian experimental cinema. Also called "Belair's last film," Chinese Viola reveals the first partnership between photographer Walter Carvalho and Bressane.
