Ferreira Gullar

Eduardo Coutinho was filming a movie with the same name in the Northeast of Brazil, in 1964, when there came the military coup. He had to interrupt the project, and came back to it in 1981, looking for the same places and people, showing what had ocurred since then, and trying to gather a family whose patriarch, a political leader fighting for rights of country people, had been murdered.

The world post-World War II and its transformations; the utopias that were created and the barbarity that have marked it. The dismantling of the dreaming generation of 1968 and the creation of new prospects in a globalized world.

Statistics, interviews and historical information on illiteracy and inequality in land distribution in Brazil's countryside.

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.

O Aleijadinho, a study of the work of Antonio Francisco Lisboa, the architect whose cathedral de Andrade had assisted in the restoration of more than 20 years earlier. de Andrade dedicated the film to his father, who had sent him on the expedition.

In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)

Cinema Brasileiro, Mercado Ocupado

"Life and work of the Maranhense poet Sousândrade (1833-1902), illustrated with engravings on Brazilian history, from the discovery to the proclamation of the Republic."

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.

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 intense life of Ferreira Gullar, one of the most influential poets in Brazil, is revisited by his personal friend Silvio Tendler, based on his most acclaimed work: Poema Sujo. In addition to addressing other poems by Gullar, the documentary also includes the testimony of people who lived directly with the artist's work.

Estrada de Sonhos

The episode dives into the mystical universe of Carlos Pertius, the son of a family of French immigrants, hospitalized at the age of 29. After facing personal problems such as the death of his father, one day he caught a glimpse of a cosmic image, which he named “the planetarium of God”. He was incarcerated at Praia Vermelha hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1946, he began to attend the studio created by Nise da Silveira, becoming fond of it as if it were his home. His works are marked by the presence of mandalas, signs of his attempts to organize psychic chaos.

Short documentary about the ideology of publicity and mass medias.

Iya-Mi-Agbá

Plantar nas Estrelas

Bonfanti

An experimental film on Brazilian avant-garde artist Helio Oiticica and his works, especially the Parangolés.

In hopes of unraveling the causes and cure for various forms of insanity, a psychiatrist in Brazil created the Museum of Images from the Unconscious in 1952. It gathered paintings and drawings made by mental patients from all over Brazil. Many of the works in the museum are paired with the case-histories of the patients who created them in this fascinating film.

Documentary about the trajectory of the Brazilian journalist, writer and politician Fernando Gabeira. With testimonies of Armínio Fraga, Aguinaldo Silva, Leda Nagle, among others.

Darcy Ribeiro was a renowned anthropologist, politician and writer. In this documentary, Maria Maia seeks to expose a bit of his personality with testimonials from friends, collaborators and speeches by Darcy himself.

A panorama of the Brazilian black experience, starting with the figure of the semi-illiterate popular artist and employee of a salt mine Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos.

A Raça Síntese de Joãosinho Trinta

Lima Barreto: Trajetória

Directed by Sérgio Bernardes Filho, "Desesperato" tells the story of a writer (Raul Cortez) who leaves his home to carry out literary research in the country's most obscure settings. Unhappy with the current national situation, the historian joins a guerrilla force with serious consequences.

Glauber em Tempo - Redescobrindo o Brasil

Follows the story of Opinião, a theatre group created in 1964 during the early Brazilian dictatorship period to oppose the government through artistic performances. Considered the first left-wing response to the dictatorship, the group gathered now famous Brazilian artists such as Nara Leão, Maria Bethânia, João do Vale and Millôr Fernandes.

Vianinha

Documentary that shows the events that culminated in the deposition of President João Goulart, on March 31, 1964, and the implementation of the military dictatorship in Brazil. Around 40 characters reveal behind the scenes and comment in detail on this important moment in Brazilian political history.

Plano B

Chronicles the life of military lieutenant, later communist militant and Brazilian politician Luiz Carlos Prestes.

A documentary on Brazilian poet and composer Vinicius de Moraes, made by his daughter a few months before his death.

A documentary made to coincide with Niemeyer's 100th birthday. The renowned architect talks about his long life, his inspirations, and his aspirations towards a just Brazil, and the ways he tried to help that along in his spectacular and beautiful buildings.

Documentary on the view, testimonies and times of Darcy Ribeiro, since military dictatorship.

An affective approach to the relationship between Mário Pedrosa, one of the greatest art critics of the 20th century, and some of the most important Brazilian artists takes the viewer on a journey through Brazilian art from the 1950s.

To celebrate the life and the work of a multifaceted creator – playwright, poet, partner of the most important names of Brazilian pop music and, above all, an enlightened character of the Brazilian cultural history - director Miguel Faria Jr. gathered an incomparable cast of partners, singers, friends and rare images from the archives recalling Vinícius’ genial simplicity, with the spontaneity, the humor, and the freedom of a person chatting over a bar table, exactly how the eternal Vinícius would enjoy.

This film shows people with constant psychological and social conflicts: the violence among outlaws, conflicts between man and woman, police and society.

Flávio Rangel - O Teatro na Palma da Mão

Latest images of the artist still alive, an unprecedented composition, testimonies of friends, family and icons of Brazilian culture.

During the Brazilian military government, journalist Estêvão is sent from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia to cover the important statement of a minister, but takes the opportunity to deliver incriminating documents to another one.

An allegory about Brazil's history and the struggle for power since the 1930 Revolution until the advent of the TV.

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.

Mixed with fiction and documentary, the film relives the interviews conducted by the writer Clarice Lispector published in the magazines "Manchete" and "Fatos and Fotos" in the 1970s.