92Y Tribeca
June - December 2019
Following on the success of the summer edition of Cinema Tropical's Music + Film Series, the program continues through the fall with a special edition dedicated to celebrate the best of Brazilian music. In the past few years, numerous filmmakers have turned the camera to follow and record the great tradition of Brazilian music producing various documentary feature films celebrating the diversity, vitality and influence of Brazilian music worldwide.
One of current theme that emerges in these three films selected for the series, is the important role that New York has played in Brazilian music. This bond is revealed in the intimate relationship that some musicians from the South American country have developed with city, as well as the ongoing musical exchange between New York and Brazil.
Combined together, the three films take us from the early years of Brazilian music in Hollywood in the 40's through the days of Bossa Nova, Tropicaliá and MPB and bring us right into the current "sampling " scene in New York and Brazil. Along the way we experience all the great classic songs and important artists of Brazilian music and meet with international artists like Pedro Almodóvar, David Byrne and Michelangelo Antonioni, who like so many have been influenced by the ongoing Brazilian music wave. In addition to the three acclaimed feature documentary films, the series will present live music performances by Brazilian artists, following the screenings.
BEYOND IPANEMA: BRAZILIAN WAVES IN GLOBAL MUSIC / ONDAS BRASILEIRAS NA MUSICA GLOBAL
A film by Guto Barra and Béco Dranoff
(Brazil/USA, 2009, 89 min. In Portuguese and English with English subtitles)
"For decades Brazilian music has captivated audiences worldwide. What makes Brazilian music such a powerful force? Why does bossa nova still lure DJs and producers fifty years after it was created? Why does the Tropicália movement resonate so deeply with the alternative-rock crowd? Beyond Ipanema explores the Brazilian music experience outside of Brazil, accompanied by a specially curated soundtrack featuring Brazilian classics reinterpreted by a new generation of artists." – The Museum of Modern Art
Thursday, December 1, 2009 at 7pm
THE HOUSE OF TOM - MUNDO, MONDE MONDO / A CASA DE TOM
A film by Ana Jobim
(Brazil, 2008, 58 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
The House of Tom - Mundo, Monde, Mondo is a highly personal documentary chronicling the life of Brazilian maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim from the late 70s to the time around his untimely passing in 1994. Produced and directed by his widow and photographer Ana Jobim, the film features never before released images and interviews spanning 15 years of his day-to-day life in his three favorite places in the world: New York City, Rio de Janeiro and his country house in Brazil. This delicate documentary offers a very intimate view of the eminent musician, his family as well as charming encounters with his friends.
Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7pm
WANDERING HEART / CORAÇÁO VAGABUNDO
A film by Fernando Grostein Andrade
(Brazil, 2008, 100 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
What was simply supposed to be just another tour for the release of a new record became a tough series of challenges for famed singer Caetano Veloso. This endearing documentary intimately follows Caetano from São Paulo to New York City to Japan, during the release of A Foreign Sound, his first album recorded solely in English. It takes considerably more than a week-long series of shows at Carnegie Hall, accolades in The New York Times, or the admiration of friends like Pedro Almodóvar, David Byrne and Michelangelo Antonioni, to make Caetano feel comfortable outside of Brazil. Wandering Heart is an enjoyable journey in search of answers to a series of questions that reveal Caetano in unprecedented intimacy.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 7pm
THE MAN WHO BOTTLED CLOUDS / O HOMEM QUE ENGARRAFAVA NUVENS
A film by Lírio Ferreira
(Brazil, 2008, 105 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Q&A with producer Denise Dummont following the screening
A fascinating documentary about the multi-talented musician Humberto Teixeira who revolutionized the course of Brazilian popular music when he introduced the northeastern rhythms of Baião to the entire country in the 1940s. This feature film by acclaimed director Lirio Ferreira embarks on a search for Teixera and on its way reveals the intimate relationship that exists between music and national identity in this South American country.
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 7:30pm
