Film Countries Archives: Brazil

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Five people watch an older man speak, while another man slumps over a desk in defeat.

The Delinquents Los delincuentes

  Rodrigo Moreno

  Argentina, Luxembourg, Brazil, Chile     189 minutes

Synopsis

At once a heist film, a hilariously plotted workplace comedy, and a wistful ode to the human desire for freedom, The Delinquents, like its main characters, is playfully elusive and difficult to pin down. Morán works a dead-end job at a bank in Buenos Aires. Tired of the grind, he dreams up a scheme to get himself and his coworker, Román, out of there for good. The plan is simple. The fallout is not.

Crafted with impeccable wit and surreal flourishes, director Rodrigo Moreno mischievously ponders the pitfalls of modern working culture, the rigors of urban living, and the seductive allure of an unburdened life in the wide open countryside.

 Spanish with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Ezequiel Borovinsky
  •   Rodrigo Moreno
  •   Manuel Ferrari, Nicolás Goldbart, Rodrigo Moreno
  •   Alejo Maglio, Ines Duacastella
  •   Daniel Elias, Esteban Bigliardi, Margarita Molfino, German de Silva, Laura Paredes, Mariana Chaud, Cecilia Rainero, Javier Zoro Sutton, Gabriela Saidon
  •   Ezequiel Borovinsky, Ezequiel Capaldo, Eugenia Molina
  •   Wanka Cine

Sponsors

International Competition Program Sponsor

John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation

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In the center of a brick city street gathers a group of people in strange vintage costumes.

Pictures of Ghosts Retratos fantasmas

  Kleber Mendonça Filho

  Brazil     93 minutes

Synopsis

In this incisive and whimsical personal essay film about movies, memory, and the places of one’s past, acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau, Neighboring Sounds) explores the changing domestic and urban spaces of his native coastal town of Recife. Split into three sections, the film opens with his family apartment — the site of his early filmmaking endeavors. It then observes the glorious movie houses of Mendonça’s formative years, culminating with a meditation on the transfiguration of theaters into churches and new sites of community.

Through the film’s playful mix of wry narration, amateur (and actual) movies, and archival footage, Mendonça imparts a range of engaging personal musings, from the role of dogs, cats, and termites in his neighborhood to fascinating historical details. A nostalgic love letter to cinema and cities, Pictures of Ghosts creates evocative connections between past and present, fiction and reality, and dilapidated and beautiful.

 Portuguese with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Emilie Lesclaux, Silvia Cruz, Felipe Lopes
  •   Kleber Mendonça Filho
  •   Matheus Farias
  •   Pedro Sotero
  •   Cinemascópio, Vitrine Filmes

Sponsors

Documentary Program Sponsors

Logo: WTTW (2019)Cynthia Stone Raskin

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The black and white image of a woman leaning against a wall, the city street with a vintage car can be seen beyond.

The Battle A Batalha da Rua Maria Antônia

  Vera Egito

  Brazil     84 minutes

Synopsis

São Paulo, October 1968. The early years of Brazil’s military dictatorship. In the philosophy building of the public university, the students and professors of the Left Student Movement are organizing. Tensions are palpable as a large number of the Communist Hunting Command gathers outside the private university across the street. As danger looms ever nearer, those who had, up to now, chosen to stay politically neutral are confronted with the implications of their apathy. Friendships and relationships are formed and tested as the personal becomes embroiled in the political, until the simmering threat of violence boils over.

Inspired by true events and filmed in beautiful black-and-white 16mm in a series of 21 elegantly choreographed long takes depicting one intense night, The Battle is a volcanic portrait of the passion of youth in a pivotal moment in Brazilian history.

 Portuguese with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Egisto Betti, Heitor Dhalia, Manoel Rangel
  •   Vera Egito
  •   Julia Zakia
  •   William Etchebehere
  •   Pâmela Germano, Isamara Castilho, Caio Horowicz, Julianna Gerais, Philipp Lavra, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
  •   Antonio Pinto
  •   Diana Almeida, Luciano Salim
  •   Paranoid Filmes, Globo Filmes

Sponsors

New Directors Program Sponsor

Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation

The Way He Looks

The Way He Looks details the trials and tribulations of growing up for three teenagers as they struggle to navigate the awkwardness of adolescence. Leonardo and Giovanna have been best friends since they were very young. Now, in the midst of their teen years, they are both confronted with the challenges of budding sexuality, the struggle for independence, and defining themselves as adults. When they befriend the new kid in school, Gabriel, their seemingly static world is turned upside down as they question their relationships with one another. If being a teenager isn’t hard enough, their situation is further complicated by Leonardo’s blindness

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