Program

The Films of Sergio Bianchi

What does it mean to call a film or filmmaker "political"? As we were so often reminded years ago, it can be said that all films are political: all films can be shown to reflect or respond to the societies or cultures that produced them. Yet what then should we call those filmmakers for whom the issue of the political engagement of their films is a kind of guiding principle that courses through their work?

Born in 1945, Brazilian director Sergio Bianchi both recalls and advances the notable tradition of political filmmaking in Brazil and throughout Latin America. Bianchi is surely the clearest contemporary descendent of that Brazilian film movement known as Cinema Novo, or "new cinema." Cinema Novo sought to introduce a kind of modernist film esthetic influenced by neo-realism and the French New Wave into Brazilian cinema, but more importantly it hoped to make the cinema a part of a national dialogue about that country's development and future.

Like the filmmakers of Cinema Novo, Bianchi focuses on those social groups deemed "marginal" because of race, class or region, although Bianchi includes sexual "marginals" in that category as well. His narratives also constantly mix documentary and fiction, reportage and storytelling, with frequent asides and interruptions to the main action. Yet more than his Cinema Novo predecessors, Bianchi also questions the very conditions for the possibility of a "national dialogue." For Bianchi, the upper-middle-class, overwhelmingly white participants in that dialogue will always show greater loyalty to their privileged positions than to any sense of national purpose, whereas those left out of the dialogue will find other ways of making their voices heard. His characters are often grotesque, their situations exaggerated, yet he challenges his viewers to gauge exactly how dissimilar the world he creates on screen is from the one they inhabit.

Instead of sending a message - the aim, in many cases, of an earlier generation of political filmmakers - Sergio Bianchi seeks to engage his audience in a dialogue. His most recent film, Chronically Unfeasible - shown at the 2000 New York Film Festival - remained in cinemas for months, and drew heated responses pro and con from every shade of the political spectrum. With their potent mix of aggression, exasperation, humor and irony, the films of Sergio Bianchi provide a powerful and important model for a fresh approach to political filmmaking.

This series was organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and originally presented at the Walter Reade Theater in March 2002.

Films are in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Films screenings are Mondays at 8:00 p.m. at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300.

From Real to Reel: Representing Brazil from the Inside Out

Examining the power of representation, this series includes the work of various filmmakers traveling through remote areas of Brazil, exploring and documenting diverse communities and their traditions.

Curated by Monika Wagenberg.

This video screening is co-organized by Cinema Tropical and The Americas Society.

The Americas Society is a non-profit organization that promotes the understanding of the political, economic, and cultural issues that define and challenge the Americas today, from the Arctic Circle to the Southernmost tip of Argentina.

Video screenings are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. (see schedule for time) at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue (at 68th Street). Free Admission. Please reserve a seat by calling (212) 249-8950, ext. 364.


May 2002 Program Sergio Bianchi	The Films of Sergio Bianchi What does it mean to call a film or filmmaker "political"? As we were so often reminded years ago, it can be said that all films are political: all films can be shown to reflect or respond to the societies or cultures that produced them. Yet what then should we call those filmmakers for whom the issue of the political engagement of their films is a kind of guiding principle that courses through their work? Born in 1945, Brazilian director Sergio Bianchi both recalls and advances the notable tradition of political filmmaking in Brazil and throughout Latin America. Bianchi is surely the clearest contemporary descendent of that Brazilian film movement known as Cinema Novo, or "new cinema." Cinema Novo sought to introduce a kind of modernist film esthetic influenced by neo-realism and the French New Wave into Brazilian cinema, but more importantly it hoped to make the cinema a part of a national dialogue about that country's development and future. Like the filmmakers of Cinema Novo, Bianchi focuses on those social groups deemed "marginal" because of race, class or region, although Bianchi includes sexual "marginals" in that category as well. His narratives also constantly mix documentary and fiction, reportage and storytelling, with frequent asides and interruptions to the main action. Yet more than his Cinema Novo predecessors, Bianchi also questions the very conditions for the possibility of a "national dialogue." For Bianchi, the upper-middle-class, overwhelmingly white participants in that dialogue will always show greater loyalty to their privileged positions than to any sense of national purpose, whereas those left out of the dialogue will find other ways of making their voices heard. His characters are often grotesque, their situations exaggerated, yet he challenges his viewers to gauge exactly how dissimilar the world he creates on screen is from the one they inhabit. Instead of sending a message - the aim, in many cases, of an earlier generation of political filmmakers - Sergio Bianchi seeks to engage his audience in a dialogue. His most recent film, Chronically Unfeasible - shown at the 2000 New York Film Festival - remained in cinemas for months, and drew heated responses pro and con from every shade of the political spectrum. With their potent mix of aggression, exasperation, humor and irony, the films of Sergio Bianchi provide a powerful and important model for a fresh approach to political filmmaking. This series was organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and originally presented at the Walter Reade Theater in March 2002. Films are in Portuguese with English subtitles. Films screenings are Mondays at 8:00 p.m. at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300. From Real to Reel: Representing Brazil from the Inside Out Examining the power of representation, this series includes the work of various filmmakers traveling through remote areas of Brazil, exploring and documenting diverse communities and their traditions. Curated by Monika Wagenberg. This video screening is co-organized by Cinema Tropical and The Americas Society. The Americas Society is a non-profit organization that promotes the understanding of the political, economic, and cultural issues that define and challenge the Americas today, from the Arctic Circle to the Southernmost tip of Argentina. Video screenings are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. (see schedule for time) at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue (at 68th Street). Free Admission. Please reserve a seat by calling (212) 249-8950, ext. 364.
	Monday, May 6, 8:00 pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. Romance (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 1987, 103 min.) Three people are looking for clues following the death of Antonio César, a left-wing intellectual and journalist who had been working on an expos of international business corruption: Fernanda, Antonio's longtime girlfriend; André, his roommate, who fears that rumors that Antonio died of AIDS means that he too will contract the disease; and Regina, a journalist whose investigation of Antonio César's work brings up more questions than answers. Although already noted for his short works, especially the scandalous Should I Kill Them? Bianchi clearly threw down a political and aesthetic gauntlet with this provocative, kaleidoscopic journey through contemporary Brazil that measures the distance between the radical slogans of the Sixties and the grim realities of the Eighties. In the film, Antonio César exists mainly as a televisual image, a ghostly presence that continues to haunt these characters and yet seems safely distant and contained - an apt metaphor for the legacy of the Sixties in politics, art and cinema for a generation of Brazilians just then awakening to a new democracy.
	Tuesday, May 7, 6:30pm at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue Odô Yá! Life with AIDS Tânia Cypriano, Brazil/USA 1997, 58 min. In this multiple-award winning documentary, Cypriano tells the affirming story of how Candomblé, a Brazilian religion of African origin, has become a source of strength and power in the fight against AIDS in Brazil. Shot in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bahia, Odô Yá! Life with AIDS shows the rituals of Candomblé and the celebration of Carnival. It features the personal struggles and words of wisdom from those whose faith has brought endurance and pride. Health and Faith (working title) Tânia Cypriano, Brazil/USA, work in progress, 8 min. A follow-up to the internationally acclaimed documentary Odô Yá! Life with AIDS. High priests and priestesses of various Afro-Brazilian religions are getting together to speak out about their history, their culture, their religion and their health. Health and Faith documents the First Seminar of Afro-Brazilian Religions and Health, which brought over 80 high priests and priestesses together from all over Brazil, and will focus on the expression and affirmation of Afro-Brazilian culture in an alternative discourse about health. Conversation with the filmmaker will follow screening.
	Monday, May 13, 8:00 pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. The Secret Cause / A Causa Secreta (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 1994, 93 min.) Freely adapted from a short story by Machado de Assis, in which a doctor whose research involves animal dissection watches his wife slowly move towards death, The Secret Cause begins as a long inactive theater director, José Mauricio, returns to the stage buoyed by a new government cultural grant. Announcing that he's going to mount a play that will expose how it is that people really live, he asks his actors to go throughout the city and learn from people who are waiting on welfare lines; in AIDS hospices; in homeless shelters, etc. Yet what they learn seems to reveal little about Brazil, but far more about themselves and their relationship to each other and especially to their director. What can truly be made from the suffering of others? Once again, Bianchi returns to the subject of the "bad faith" of the Brazilian élites, and their refusal to come to grips with the contradictions that have come to define their lives. Moving on to work with a much larger cast than in Romance, Bianchi creates an intricate web of relationships, full of subterfuge and power plays that eventually blur the lines between the action on and offstage.
	Tuesday, May 14, 6:30 pm at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue The Spirit of TV Vincent Carelli, Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) Brazil, 1990, 18 min. This work documents the Waiapi Indians' first contact with the modern technology of video and television and explores how the Waiapi conceptualize the images of video and the possible uses of television. While they watch programs of other indigenous groups, they express diverse views on the benefits and drawbacks of television. The Indians discuss the ability of video to help them preserve their stories, beliefs and rituals; to facilitate connections with other tribes; and to communicate their message of protest to the government. Meeting Ancestors: The Zo’e Vincent Carelli, Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) Brazil, 1992, 22 min. Now considered a classic, this documentary shows the power of video as a tool of communication when appropriated by indigenous communities. Chief Waiwai, accompanied by a group of his fellow Waiapi Indians, takes a trip to meet the Zo'e, an isolated indigenous group whom the Waiwai previously knew only through video. The Zo'e, increasingly in touch with the outside world, are now experiencing the phenomena of contact that the Waiapi went through twenty years ago. By sharing their customs with their visitors, the Zo'e allow the Waiapi to reconnect with the wisdom of their ancestors. The Waiapi, in turn, use video footage to warn the Zo'e about the dangers of the white world. Good Trip Ibantu Vincent Carelli, Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) Brazil, 1999, 18 min. This is a highly emotional account of a meeting of four teenagers with the Krahô Indians. The Krahô received them warmly and they integrate immediately. The youth took part in the works and ceremonies of the village. They were painted and received Indian names. The departure was pure emotion. When God Visits the Village Vincent Carelli, Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) Brazil, 1999, 18 min. This documentary, hosted by Ailton Krenak, shows how nine different ethnic indigenous groups live and think in different parts of Brazil.
	Monday, May 20, 8:00 pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. Chronically Unfeasible / Cronicamente Inviável (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 2000, 101 min.) A red-hot poker thrust into the Brazilian body politic, this passionate cry from Sergio Bianchi sets into motion a number of characters whose meanderings, misadventures and interactions expose sad traditions of corruption and hypocrisy. Proudly agit-prop, the film challenges viewers with its confrontational, Brechtian-flavored exploration of the social, economic and sexual relations that define the management, staff and customers of an upscale So Paulo restaurant. Meanwhile, an academic researching the harsh living conditions in the countryside wonders if he can get in on the thriving traffic in human organs. As always in Bianchi's work, there's a refusal to compartmentalize the discussion; each sequence, each encounter, is seen through the prisms of class, race, region, gender, and sexuality. Not since the heady days of Cinema Novo has a Brazilian film caused so much intense reaction and heated debate at home; just about every critic, political columnist, or person with access to a soapbox weighed in to praise the film or, almost as often, to denounce it. Although the film is clearly responding to conditions in Brazil, non-Brazilian viewers should find some uncomfortable parallels in this scathing portrait of a society in which all values are market values.
	Tuesday, May 21, 6:30 pm at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue Cine Mamembebe: Cinema Discovers Brazil Lais Bodansky and Luiz Bolognesi, Brazil, 1998, 54 min. Two filmmakers embark on a journey to the interior of Brazil, screening short films to different audiences in public squares. From southern Bahia to the distant edges of the Amazon, they meet many people who experience the big screen for the first time. A charming tribute to the power of cinema.
	Monday, May 27, 8:00pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. Should I Kill Them? / Mato Eles? (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 1982) The Second Beast / A Segunda Besta (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 1976) and Divine Social Service / Divina Previdencia (Sergio Bianchi, Brazil, 1983) Total program 60 min. During the 1970s Brazil's vast Amazon region became the site of both intense economic development and national fantasy; seen as a potential source of limitless wealth, it came to represent Brazil's bright future. Yet at least one major problem remained: what to do about the native Brazilian population - the Amazonian Indians - who used to populate the region. Bianchi's Should I Kill Them? is a scathing look at the terrible consequences of uncontrolled development and misguided government policies. Using both staged and actual interviews with officials, experts and the local inhabitants, Bianchi constructs the film around a series of questions that appear as title cards for the viewers - for example, "How is it that a tribe thriving in the late 1950s has been reduced by the 1980s to a single member? (Choose One)." Still controversial, Should I Kill Them? exposes the paternalism and hypocrisy that has characterized so many governments' relations with their native populations throughout the Americas. Preceded by Divine Social Service, a journey through the labyrinth of urban social service agencies. The Second Beast is an adaptation by Bianchi of the short story written by Julio Cortázar: "Carta a una Señorita en París (Letter to a Young Lady in Paris)".
	Tuesday, May 28, 6:30 pm at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue The Filmmaker of the Amazon Aurelio Michiles, Brazil, 1997, 87 min. The story of Silvino Santos (1886–1970), the Brazilian filmmaker who was the first to show images of the Amazon on screen in the early 20th century. In 1913, as the Amazonian rubber boom was at its peak, Silvino Santos made the first of nine feature documentary films which chronicle the extraordinary events of a unique time and place in Brazilian history. In his lifetime Silvino Santos was acknowledged as a pioneer of Brazilian cinema and his name was enveloped myth in the jungle region. Cinema Tropical is a compressive and collaborative project between institutions, organizations and individuals with the goal of creating a permanent space dedicated to the exhibition of Latin American cinema in New York. The Americas Society is a non-profit organization that promotes the understanding of the political, economic, and cultural issues that define and challenge the Americas today, from the Arctic Circle to the Southernmost tip of Argentina.
	Films screenings are Mondays at 8:00 p.m. at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300. Video screenings are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. (see schedule for time) at Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue (at 68th Street). Free Admission. Please reserve a seat by calling (212) 249-8950, ext. 364.
Cinema Tropical is a compressive and collaborative project between institutions, organizations and individuals with the goal of creating a permanent space dedicated to the exhibition of Latin American cinema in New York. Cinema Tropical is proudly presented by Jameson, Irish whiskey. It is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional funding provided in part by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the US/Mexico Fund for Culture. Additional support provided by Latin American Video Archives and the Consulates of Argentina and Chile in New York.