Drama, drama, and more drama. Will this year's festival really be so dramatic? Read the interview with our film programmer Gábi, prepared for you by Barbora, a team member of Kino Brasil.
"The films won me over because they really transported me for a moment to Brazil, which I love so much, and I was also interested in their message. It's amazing how some filmmakers are able to convey reality to us, capture it in its poetics and purity and leave us with a strong impression. Those are wonderful experiences."
- Gábi, film programmer of Kino Brasil
B: How many films did you watch this year and how many favorites did you have?
G: This year I watched about thirty of the latest films. Honestly, I didn't watch all of them to the end - there are also films that we can be convinced are not suitable for the festival. Either in terms of quality or thematically. Every year I also consider movies I've seen in previous years. If we were to count these as well, the number of films expands by many dozens more.
B: Which films can the audience look forward to and how did the films win you over?
G: The films Pureza, Betânia, Retratos Fantasmas, Retrato de um Certo Oriente, O Buscador and Domingo à Noite were shortlisted. These films appealed to me with their artistic value, processing, theme, ability to convey "Brazilianness" to the viewer and resonate with that viewer. Personally, the films won me over because they really transported me for a moment to Brazil, which I love so much, and I was also interested in their message. It's amazing how some filmmakers are able to convey reality to us, capture it in its poetics and purity and leave us with a strong impression. Those are wonderful experiences.
B: Six dramas and one documentary. Is this year's festival supposed to be so dramatic, or are there simply a lot of quality dramas being filmed in Brazil?
G: It's not about being too serious at all. After all, drama is a genre that can also embrace humor or tension. And yes, Brazil produces a lot of quality dramas. We focus primarily on quality films.
B: What about a light-hearted comedy, an exciting story from the favela, or musical films that often attract audiences, haven't you considered? Aren't you afraid that someone won't go to the festival because it will be too "serious" for them?
G: Brazilian comedies are fine, I rarely stream one at home when I need to turn off my head. But to be honest, I haven't come across a really high-quality comedy for a long time that deserves to be presented to the Czech audience. They are rather consumerist acts of commercial media. A lot of music movies are made in Brazil, they have a lot of excellent musicians that are worth making movies about. This year, the film Elis e Tom was shortlisted, but it was a documentary - and we already had one selected. We don't want to have more than one documentary in the program, that would be no space for non-documentaries. And when it comes to crime films from the slums of the suburbs, Cidade de Deus (City of God) or Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) are, in short, unsurpassed iconic films.
B: Two of the films (Pureza and Betânia) have a strong woman in the main role who has a difficult fate. Aren't these films similar in style and why should audiences see them both?
G: Although these two films both have the names of the main characters in the title, they are very different. Pureza is a biographical film with a touching ending from the jungle and its main theme is human rights. The actress who portrays Pureza, Dira Paes, is an award-winning Brazilian star and a well-known face from both television and film. Renato Barbieri is also a director with a lot of experience and released films. Betânia, on the other hand, is a more artistic effort from the environment of such an unusual desert landscape near the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, it has more storylines and characters, a more complex story and touches on more topics. The main actress, Diana Mattos, is an unknown face to Brazilian viewers. At the same time, this is the directorial debut of Marcelo Botta.
B: For the umpteenth time over the years, you have chosen a film directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho (now Retratos Fantasmas). Is it possible to say that his films are the basic building block of Kino Brasil? And have you thought about bringing him to the festival in person?
G: Kleber is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive Brazilian artists today. His films have traveled all over the world and receive standing ovations wherever they can. It can be said that whatever he films, we want to have it at the festival. However, I wouldn't say that his films would be the basic building block of our festival, at least not the only one. There are many other great directors in Brazil whose films we love and always want to bring. This year, for example, I immediately reached for Marcelo Gomes' new film Portrait of a Certain Orient (Retrato de um Certo Oriente), because it is simply another gem from his studio. And yes, if fate allows us, we would like to bring Kleber, Marcelo, or Karim Ainous, Gabriel Mascaro and other great Brazilian filmmakers in the future.
B: This year, the audience can again look forward to a film based on a story from the writer Milton Hatoum - Retrato de um Certo Oriente (last year we screened River of Desire). This film is partly black and white. Is there a reason for the black-and-white rendering, and do you think it's better than if it were in color?
G: According to the director, he chose the black-and-white treatment for several reasons: on the one hand, he wanted to capture the Amazon forest and its multiple greens in a different way, in a way that matches the story and the period in which it takes place. At the same time, he describes it as an artistic means to evoke the nostalgic note of old photographs in the viewer. When we look at a black-and-white photograph, it makes us feel reconciled with the past, smiling at what we experienced and the time we lost long ago. The black and white concept works perfectly for me personally. With each subsequent image, the subtle poetics of the film is formed. It's part of the artistic intent and I certainly wouldn't change the colors in this case.
See the full programme of this year's festival here.
B: What about other films, what else can the audience look forward to?
G: We have other great movies on the schedule. Sunday Night (Domingo à Noite) is an intimate drama about an aging artistic couple, a famous actress and a writer. The main character takes care of her beloved man who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and suddenly she is also diagnosed with the same disease. It is a very sensitive look at an aging couple, their life scars and extraordinary love. Next, we have the peculiar film The Seeker (O Buscador), which contrasts the corrupt Brazilian elite and the effort to live in harmony with conscience, freedom and goodness. The film is unusually composed of very long shots, and the camera thus takes on one of the main roles. Each of the films we present has its own unique charm. It's definitely worth coming to see what's going on in Brazil today.
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