London’s Brazilian Film Festival is about to take off this Friday. In its Sixth Edition, the Festival will be honouring the Brazilian poet and musician Vinicius de Moraes, as well as running aside a gastronomic festival, “Brazilian Taste”, with speciality food in many different restaurants in town.
- Leia a versão desta matéria em português, aqui!
Eleven movies and nine short films will be presented to the London audience from May 9th ‘til 13th, at the Odeon Covent Garden. Tickets will cost 10 pounds and include 1 feature film + 1 short.
The Festival has been curated by acclaimed Brazilian Film industry directors and actors Betty Faria, Malu de Martino, Paulo Mendonça and Isabela Nigro.
The ElevenCulture team will be attending the event, talking to the creators of the festival and their guests, watching the films and sharing exclusive reviews on our Cinema column.
The Brazilian cinema week starts with a night party – open to the general public and special guests – on Thursday 8th, at McQueen Shoreditch.
Film screenings starts on the following day with the official European premiere of the film Gata Velha Ainda Mia (Never too Old to Meow) directed by Rafael Primot – staring the acclaimed actress Regina Duarte, leading the cast as a retired and complex author who, after 12 years of reclusion, decides to open her house for an interview with a journalist (Barbara Paz), announcing her comeback to the literature scene.
IH THE SPOTLIGHTS
The highlights films of this selection begin with Serra Pelada (Bald Mountain) by Heitor Dahlia, one of the most celebrated Brazilian films in 2013. The movie follows the story of two men who left São Paulo and headed to Serra Pelada (Bald Mountain) located in the Amazon region and one of the largest mines in the world, in search for gold and a better life. But the harsh conditions experienced in the mines changed their lives forever.
Another highlight of the festival, Revelando Sebastião Salgado (Revealing Sebastião Salgado) is directed by Betse de Paula and follows the world-famous photographer – who recently presented his acclaimed exhibition Genesis at the Natural History Museum – with shots of his amazing process of creation and “on the road lifestyle”.
A must watch, Cidade de Deus: Dez Anos Depois (City of God: Ten Years Later) directed by Cavi Borges and Luciano Vidigal is a sensitive and funny documentary about the film that turned into an instant cult movie all over the world, and what happened to the young boys and girls featured in the film. The great majority of City of God casting were residents of the same favela where the movie was shot, with no previous experience in acting!
To conclude our list, there is Tatoo. Directed by Hilton Lacerda, it is a movie about an unexpected love affair between a young military man on duty during the dictatorship period in Brazil, and a provocative man who runs a flamboyant theatre company in Recife, called Chão de Estrelas.
Vinicius de Moraes (the poet and bossa nova songwriter)
TRIBUTE TO VINICIUS DE MORAES
Poet, singer and Bossa Nova composer Vinicius de Moraes will be celebrated in British territory this year for his birth centenary with the exhibition of Vinicius, the Film directed by Miguel Faria Jr , on May 11th, Sunday from 4pm.
An amazing range of 10 short films from several regions of Brazil will also comprise part of the event. Opening for the feature films, this selection of shorts have been awarded at prestigious film festivals, in both Brazil and throughout the world.
