Paulo José

Conducted from interviews with personalities who lived with Leila Diniz (1945-1972), the documentary is a record of an era and, above all, it rescues the participation in Brazilian culture of the actress who opened the way for the sexual revolution during the dark years of the dictatorship.

Besieged by cancer and nearing the end, the genius Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco (1946-2016) asks Bárbara Paz, his wife, for one last wish: to be the protagonist of his own death.

The trajectory and artistic imagery of actor and director Zbigniew Ziembinski (1908-1978), precursor of modern theater in Latin America and master of generations of Brazilian actors. The polyphonic montage builds on vast unpublished material, covering half a century of performances, teletheaters and interviews by Zimba, as he was known – before and after fleeing Poland, on the eve of the invasion of Warsaw – and recreates fragments of Wedding Dress , a play by Nelson Rodrigues which the Polish-Brazilian director won a revolutionary montage in 1943.

Searching for Makunaima is a cultural and historical account of the most Brazilian character there is in fiction. The film begins with Makunaima, one of the founding myths of the native people from the border between Brazil-Venezuela-Guiana, first captured in the writings of the German ethnographer Koch-Grünberg at the beginning of the 1910s. With interviews in Portuguese, German, Spanish, and in the indigenous languages Macuxi and Taurepang, Searching for Macunaima reclaims this amazing character who represents Brazil in many ways (from literature to cinema to theatre) and remains relevant to date.

For this behemoth, Bressane took his opera omnia and edited it in an order that first adheres to historical chronology but soon starts to move backwards and forward. The various pasts – the 60s, the 80s, the 2000s – comment on each other in a way that sheds light on Bressane’s themes and obsessions, which become increasingly apparent and finally, a whole idea of cinema reveals itself to the curious and patient viewer. Will Bressane, from now on, rework The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus when he makes another film? Is this his latest beginning? Why not, for the eternally young master maverick seems to embark on a maiden voyage with each and every new film!

Two years of research and visits to collections, cinematheques and museums; almost seventy interviews that generated 30 hours of recorded material; more than two hundred scanned photos and more than one hundred films watched. In total, more than a thousand hours of work were needed to prepare Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century. The work is a fascinating journey through all the cinematic cycles that Brazil lived, from the pioneering Belle Époque, through the great studios like Atlântica and Cinédia, Cinema Novo, the urban comedies of the 70's, until the resumption in the late 90's. The documentary is unique, it gives the floor to who really wrote and lived this story intensely.

Friends of the recently deceased Quincas take their pal's body on one last tour of his favorite spots in Brazil's Bahia.

No synopsis available yet.

A film about the reunion of a family broken by the pain and because of the pain can be reunited. An intense story, told in a soft and sensitive way, showing the search and dedication of a man rediscovering family and the love that unites the brothers, finally forming a real family.

The life of the owners of Circus Esperança, Puro Sangue e Pangaré, father and son, who plays two clowns. At a certain point, Pangaré starts showing tiredness and sadness for being an unhappy clown.

In an empty city, scorched by the sun, the young and old confuse the fever of sunstroke with the delicate birth of passion. Like ghosts, they hover around buildings and endless flatlands in search of the ever elusive love. Inspired by 19th century Russian short stories, the plots weave and unravel together in the improbable city of Brasilia – a distorted mirror-image of the Soviet utopia – located in the heart of the Brazilian desert.

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.

"All Paulos in the World" is a cinematographic essay about Paulo José, one of the greatest artists in Brazil, in the year in which he turns 80 years-old.

When they discover their town lacks funding for a sewage system, but does have a federal grant to make a movie, a group of villagers decide to make a sci-fi joint about a monster who lives in the building site of a septic tank.

The story of Santinho, a young man who has been exalted to the position of a saint in a remote riverine community of the upper Amazonas state, after performing a “miracle” upon the suicide of his own mother. The film seeks to be an intimate picture of those who are involved in this sect and of the infinite human capacity of “fabricating” faith and seeking some sense in the horrifying experience of death.

The life of a famous Brazilian film and television actor, including testimonials from people who knew him and worked with him, as well as excerpts from films and videos in which he acted.

Person is a documentary about the life and work of filmmaker Luiz Sérgio Person. The documentary brings the reconstruction of the history of the São Paulo filmmaker through the personal journey of his daughter, Marina. Through interviews with friends, family, and people who worked with Person, she seeks to discover more than dates and biographical data.

A documentary that chronologically traces the presence of women in Brazilian cinema.

A young photocopier operator becomes infatuated with his neighbor and, unable to afford anything from her shop, turns to shady schemes to make money.

The delicate process of rebuilding the memory and identity of the Guatós Indians, currently scattered throughout the Pantanal region.

On the porch of a farm, a woman tells stories while cutting and sewing scraps of cloth, creating images that form a towel. There are four stories of humor and magic. The fisherman's wedding with Iara, a mermaid from the rivers. The altar boy of a church that sees the procession of souls. The encounter between a Santa Claus in a store and a street boy and the adventures of Zé Burraldo, a naive guy who always lets himself be carried away by others.

A cinematographic essay, without dialogues, about the months Nietszche spent in Turin, Italy, with narration quoted by his original writings.

Documentary about Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and the many facets of his work.

Apolônio Brasil was a pianist at a famous nightclub in Rio de Janeiro, from the 1950s until his untimely death. Quite a character, Apolônio was loved by women and idolized by his audience and friends. His contagious joy attracts the attention of American scientist Dr. Boris Lewitsky, who comes to Brazil in order to interview Apolônio's close friends and make them a most unusual offer concerning the remains of the late musician.

David, a man in his twillight years, lives all by himself and decides to invite two childhood friends for a day at his house in Petrópolis, where they spend hours talking about the past.

No synopsis available yet.

The visits of Brazilian sanitarist Oswaldo Cruz to Amazon in early 20th century.

Benjamim Zambraia is a lonely man, a famous model with a tragic past. Some time in the past, he showed some officers the exact location where the woman he loved was hiding with her guerilla lover. As a result, the two were killed. One day, he casually meets a woman who looks very much like his former love, and this fact changes his life. Could she be the daughter of his great love? Or her reincarnation?

Ulisses has failed in his professional life, but leads a happy life with his wife Ângela and their two daughters. Until the day he is introduced to Bárbara, a very beautiful woman living in Rio de Janeiro. Ângela becomes her friend and gives her the dress Ulisses had given her. From then on, marital problems arise, and he becomes increasingly attracted to Bárbara.

No synopsis available yet.

"Portraits and excerpts from Brazilian films from all times. Actors, directors and images that affirm cinema."

Policarpo is a chauvinistic patriot, a major who tries to find solutions for Brazilian problems using only the resources of his own country. His visionary and idealistic temperament is behind his strange ideas about how to build a great nation.

The principal character in Helvécio Ratton's delightful film has been adapted from a book and comic created by the Brazilian cartoonist Ziraldo, and tells the tale of a happy-go-lucky 10-year-old child growing up in a city in the 60s.

Peter Mandrake, a North-American photojournalist becomes embroiled in South America's dangerous underworld of pimps, drug gangs and arms smugglers when he sets out to find the killer of a local call girl.

The story of a large family in which each member develops a strange occupation.

Five stories by Brazilian writer Guimarães Rosa: in the hinterland of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a man fears for his life after having killed one of the dire Brothers Dagobé, outlaws who have great influence over the region; a hitman asks a doctor what's the meaning of a name he has heard; in a farm, the landowner decides to share the use and property of the estate among his employees; a man falls in love with a girl, but she's said to have a dreadful disease; and the local butcher spends half of his time running after his mother and daughter, both utterly mad.

A documentary about the fathers of Bossa Nova: João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

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

A tomato is planted, harvested and sold at a supermarket, but it rots and ends up in the trash. But it doesn’t end there: Isle of Flowers follows it up until its real end, among animals, trash, women and children. And then the difference between tomatoes, pigs and human beings becomes clear.

The friendship between four men is at stake when one of them is invited to work in another city. But the other three decide to go along.

Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his job by striking. This clash of perspectives puts the father and son at odds. Fortunately, Tião's mother, Romana, is on hand to act as a moderator between the two opinionated men.

Earning her living by dubbing American TV Series, a woman dreams of becoming an international Hollywood star.

Paulo is a rich lawyer who has a happy and comfortable family life, with his kid and very loyal to his wife. But when he finds out that the woman is cheating on him with his business partner and best friend, he decides to execute a perfect plan that involves murdering both and easily getting away with murder. However, Paulo's plans are about to be ruined due to some unpredictable factors involving powerful people, plenty of money, the kidnap of his son and a tenacious inspector following his steps.

No synopsis available yet.

Fantasy comedy about Brazilian writer Oswald de Andrade, one of the most important icons of Modernism in Brazil. In the film, Oswald is played by two actors: Ítala Nandi, as his feminine anima, and Flávio Galvão, as the masculine half.

In the 1940s, São Paulo nightlife is the setting for Tezinho's love affairs. In love with Aninha, he needs to get away from the girl and ends up getting involved with other women, including an obsessive relationship with a prostitute.

"A view of São Paulo's rural architecture, from the remains of a sugar mill from the 1500s to a farm at the height of the coffee cycle in 1822. Documentary illustrating Morada Paulista, book by Luis Saia". (ACPJ/CCM)

Marina is in her late thirties and has recently become a widow. After finding an old photo album from her fifteenth birthday, she becomes curious about the men she danced with that night and decides to track them down, one by one.

Heitor and Matilde are two siblings who decide to murder their rich father in order to quickly inherit his wealth. They get the killing done, aided by Matilde's boyfriend Henrique, but after a while the three of them begin to recieve mysterious notes which suggest that their secret is in danger.

No synopsis available yet.

Set of carioca sketches.

A tireless and incorrigible seducer looks for - and seems to find - the woman of his life.

Born a fully grown black man in a village in the Brazilian jungle, Macunaíma later magically transforms into a white man before making an adventure-filled trip to the city of São Paulo. Once there, he becomes something of a dandy, falling in love with Ci, a revolutionary who dies in an accidental bombing. After robbing a ruthless industrialist, Macunaima returns to his village where he finds his newly acquired knowledge and possessions of little use.

An anguished university student in his early 30's ponders the state of his life in light of his relationships with a politicized classmate, a TV actress selling the image of a femme fatale and his bourgeois sister.

A volatile young man, Edu is a typical Rio de Janeiro middle-class kind, who flirts with multiple women at the same time. None of them, however, had managed to make him fall in love, until he met with mysterious Tatiana.

When womanizer Paulo meets a friend’s fiancée, she changes the way he looks at the opposite sex. He falls in love, and believes she is in fact all women in one. Because of that, he has to face an important decision: to go on with his old life, or embrace this special relationship and become a monogamous man.

In a small town in Minas Gerais, the arrival of a young priest causes a commotion in the conservative atmosphere of the place, aggravated by the sudden attraction this priest feels for a beautiful girl. This forbidden love affair soon turns into an unbridled passion.

A man gets locked naked outside of his apartment.

Originally produced for German TV, Improvised and Purposeful is a firsthand look at the "Cinema Novo" movement (otherwise known as the 'Brazilian New Wave'). Director Joaquim Pedro de Andrade focuses on six Cinema Novo filmmakers working in Rio in 1967.

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.