Celebrating the theatrical releases of three highly acclaimed Brazilian films and the realization of two special film series, Cinema Tropical, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Brazil in New York, has launched the special initiative 'Verão in New York: A Summer of Brazilian Cinema' to celebrate the revitalized cinema of Latin America’s largest country in the summer months of June, July, and August of this year.
Brazilian cinema has gone through an impressive resurgence in recent years: With record-breaking production numbers and a vast new generation of young filmmakers working across the country—beyond Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the traditional film centers of the nation—Brazilian cinema has reached a new plane of maturity.
Through a diversity of aesthetics, narratives, and genres, and fueled by acclaim won in the international film festival circuit, Brazilian filmmakers have been challenging preconceived notions of Brazilian culture and politics, and are providing direction during Brazil’s turbulent political present.
“‘Verão in New York’ is Cinema Tropical’s way of celebrating the new wave of Brazilian films opening in New York (and U.S.) theaters and of promoting our mission of maximizing awareness of this cinematic revitalization,” says Carlos A. Gutiérrez, executive director of Cinema Tropical.
The three films enjoying a theatrical release this summer are Fellipe Barbosa’s Gabriel and the Mountain / Gabriel e a Montanha, opening Friday, June 15 at the Quad Cinema, distributed by Strand Releasing; Affonso Uchôa and João Dumans’ Araby / Arábia, opening Friday, June 22 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, a Grasshopper Film release; and Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas’ Good Manners / As Boas Maneiras, opening Friday, July 27 at the IFC Center, from Distrib Films US.
Based on the true story of a close friend of Barbosa’s, Gabriel and the Mountain is a beautifully photographed travelogue that re-creates the fateful journey of a young Brazilian through West Africa. This thrilling mix of re-creation and reality was the winner of the top two prizes at Cannes' Critic's Week.
Araby, winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Latin American Film of the Year and a favorite in over 50 international film festivals, including New Directors/New Films and Rotterdam, is a fable-like, lyrical road movie as well as a humanist work of remarkable poise and maturity.
The second collaboration of filmmakers Dutra and Rojas deftly integrates art-house and genre cinema to create a thrilling and dark gothic fable with sharp social commentary. Set in a futuristic São Paulo, Good Manners is Disney meets Jacques Tourneur. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, the film becomes an unexpected and wild werewolf movie unlike any other—and a poignant social and racial allegory of modern-day Brazilian society.
On July 28 and 29, Museum of the Moving Image will present the special series “LGBTQ Brazil,” programmed by Ela Bittencourt. Featuring a unique lineup of films, all of them in their New York premiere, the series showcases the flourishing and diverse LGBTQ cinema from the South American country. Highlights include Kiko Goifman and Claudia Priscilla's Berlinale Teddy Award winner documentary Bixa Travesty on the self-described “gender terrorist” black trans pop singer Linn da Quebrada and Ismael Caneppele’s coming-of-age lesbian romance Music for When the Lights Go Out.
Finally, Cinema Tropical’s popular “Music+Film: Brazil” series is presenting two special screenings this summer, including the documentary film Badi, directed by Edu Felistoque, which follows the international career of singer, guitarist, and composer Badi Assad. The film screens on July 6 at Guild Hall in East Hampton as part of the first annual Guitar Masters festival.
“Music+Film: Brazil” will also partner with Brasil Summerfest on August 1 to present the New York premiere of Chico: Brazilian Artist—a 2015 documentary film by Miguel Faria Jr. that follows legendary musician Chico Buarque as he considers his own past from a nuanced point of view.
