27 Sept to 01 Oct – BRAFF – Brazilian Festival Film

29 Aug, 2013

READ ENGLISH BELOW / READ IN PORTUGUESE HERE

By Fernanda Franco
Translation by Harriet Batey

At a busy time in London’s events calendar, look to the Festival of Brazilian Cinema which once again will show the best of current national cinema. The event, which is already in its fifth edition, is highly anticipated by the public attending every year, all waiting to enjoy the various genres stemming from the Brazilian audiovisual market.

And, to prove how Brazil really is great at football, the festival is launching a new concept this year: “Cine Foot” will show films related to the sport. Amongst the highlights of this special show is “Heleno” a film directed by José Henrique Fonseca. In the film, Rodrigo Santoro plays footballer Helenus de Freitas, who in the 1940s was considered the prince of Rio de Janeiro. However, indiscipline and disease (syphilis) gradually stopped his journey to glory, transforming his into a tragic story. The film is an adaptation of the book “Nunca Houve um Homem como Heleno” ( “Never was there a man like Heleno” ) by Marcos Eduardo Novaes.

Another title within this theme will be the documentary “Santos, 100 anos de futebol e art” ( Santos, 100 years of football and art” ). Amongst glory and love, the 100 years of Santos Football Club was marked by numerous successes. Further to being one of the most important clubs in Brazil and the highest scorer in history, they were considered the best football team of all time, and even was the platform for one of the world’s best players, Pelé, named Athlete of the Century, and more recently the skilled Neymar. Directed by Lina Chanie (A Via Láctea), the film tells a story considered by many as masculine, however with the delicacy of feminine cinematic vision.

Political themes will also be dealt with, with the film “Doss iê Jango” tells the life story of João Goulart, from his election as president of Brazil to his expulsion from office in the 1 ^st April 1964 coup. After the coup, Jango lived in exile in Argentina, where he died in 1976. Explanation behind the circumstances of his death in the neighbouring country remains incomplete to this day. His body was buried immediately after death, further raising suspicions of premeditated murder. This documentary returns the issue back to current times and tries to publically clarify some of the obscure facts within Brazilian history. The director is Paulo Henrique Fontenelle (Loki).

Within the fiction genre, directed by René Sampaio and starring Fabrício Boliveira and Isis Valverde, is the long awaited “Faroeste Caboclo” inspired by the song by Renato Russo (1960 – 1996), which tells the story of João de Santo Cristo, a young man who leaves the interior of Bahia and moves to Brasília, where he becomes a drug dealer and falls for Maria Lúcia. Another film related to the leader of Legião Urbana is “Somos tão Jovens” (“We are so Young”) , a biopic of Renato Russo, directed by Antônio Carlos da Fontoura and starring Thiago Mendonça ( 2 Filhos de Francisco ). The documentary portrays the younger years of the Legião Urbana leader, from 16 to 22 years old, in Brasília towards the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. The formation of his first band (Aborto Elétrico), his sentimental and sexual discoveries and musical journey up to his first invitation to play in Rio de Janeiro , as part of Legião, are portrayed in the film.

Another film deserving the attention of London audiences is the documentary “Margaret Mee e a Flor da Lua” , which details the legacy of English botanist Margaret Mee. The film is directed by Malu de Martino and tells the story Britain, Margaret Mee, who moved to Brazil in 1950 and produced more than 400 drawings of Brazilian flowers, and through art, defended the banner of environmentalism.

One return to the scene is director Bruno Barreto ( Dona Flor e seus dois maridos ) telling the story of American, Elizabeth Bishop. The film chronicles the romance between Brazilian, Lota de Macedo Soares, creator of Parque do Flamengo and performed by Glória Pires, and the American Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto), considered one of the greatest poets of the English language. The film brings the issue of homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s to the forefront, a time when prejudice was much higher than today.

A total of 25 productions will be shown on the big screen, including 13 feature length and 12 short films. The sessions are always followed by discussion with a representative of the film. On the closing night, the festival awards the Lente de Cristal (Crystal Lens) to the film which receives the highest number of votes from the London audience.

Check here for the complete programme for the Festival of Brazilian Cinema , which takes place between 27 ^th September and 1 ^st October 2013 at the Odeon Covent Garden.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LISTINGS AND BUY THE TICKETS

SCHEDULE CINEFOOT