The best of Brazilian Cinematography will be for the eighth time celebrated
in the land of film festivals. Southern Mirrors and Puente are proud to
present the 2014 edition of BRAFFTV “Brazilian Film and TV Festival of Toronto".
According to the Festival’s curator, Alexandre Ramos, this Festival is a
great opportunity to see a different, dense, strong, cheerful country, but
mainly a transforming one.
This year’s four-day festival showcases a vibrant line-up of 17 films among
features, documentaries, animation and shorts with the best recent
Brazilian film productions from all genres.
*BRAFFTV’s Schedule*
Tickets $ 8.00
Thursday, October 16th at 7pm
* OPENING SESSION*
*Until Sbornia Do Us Apart** (*Até que a Sbornia nos Separe*)*
Animated / 91’ / 2013
Directed by: Otto Guerra and Ennio Torresan Jr
What happens when the wall dividing a small country from the rest of the
world falls accidentally? Easy-going and stuck in time, the people of
Sbornia are now hit by winds of modernity coming from the big city.
Conflicts caused by this violent cultural clash turn the lives of
protagonists Pletskaya and Kraunus — two well-known Sbornian musicians —
upside down. As a result of the continental interference in Sbornia’s
deep-seated traditions, some natives wake dormant old beliefs and start
rescuing their own identity. The film is based on the musical play
“Tangos&Tragediesâ€, created by Nico Gomez and Hique Nicolaiewsky,
which has
been performed on stages worldwide to great acclaim for the past 25 years.
*Screened with the short*
*Ed **(Ed)*
Animation / 14’ / 2013
Directed by Gabriel Garcia
Meet Ed and his extraordinary life. Fifty years of an unforgettable
journey. Many loves, adventures and remarkable stories. What nobody knows
is why Ed wants to end it.
Friday, October 17th
7 pm
*Drops of Joy *(Tarja Branca)
Documentary / 79’ / 2013
Directed by Cacau Rhoden
The documentary "Drops of Joy" emphasizes the importance of maintaining
one’s playful spirit from childhood into one’s adult years. It
explores how
our success-driven society often leads adults to abandon this youthfulness
and instead opt for a binary world where "work" and "play" must be kept
separate. Its ironic title refers specifically to prescription drugs, which
opens up a discussion about the over-medicalization of our lives.
Ultimately, it suggests an alternative to these artificial remedies:
naturally reuniting with the child within all of us, so as to live fully
and freely.
*Screened with the short *
*Super *(Super)
Fiction / 6’22†/ 2014
Directed by Ricardo Bueno
On that day, despite being exhausted, he chose to take the stairs. The
steps led to escapism, a reflection. They led him to the top. He sought his
identity, his meaning. At the top, what would boost him?
9 pm
*City of God – 10 Years Later *(Cidade de Deus – 10 Anos Depois)
Documentary / 70’ / 2013
Directed by Cavi Borges & Luciano Vidigal
Ten years after the release of the Oscar-nominated City of God, this new
documentary explores the positive and negative impact the 2002 film has had
on the lives of those in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood.
*Screened with the short*
*Son of the Crime* (Filho do Crime)
Directed by Daniel Ghivelder
Fiction / 18’ / 2014
The plot of "Son of the Crime" addresses in a raw realistic way the
dramatic unfolding of the life of Nathan, a boy born and raised in a Rio de
Janeiro slum who comes across a barbaric crime committed by a man who
happens to be the security chief of the state’s communities. It is from
this episode that we discover the true relationship between the characters.
Saturday, October 18th
2pm
*Cecilia’s House *(A Casa de CecÃlia)
Fiction / 102’ / 2014
Directed by Clarissa Appelt
CecÃlia is fourteen years old and home alone for two weeks. After mixed
days of solitude and joy, Lorena, a mysterious companion, shows up in the
house. After her new friend's arrival, the house starts getting gradually
emptier and strange events start to happen.
*Screened with the short*
*The Sun Can Blind (**O Sol pode Cegar)*
Fiction / 16' 44†/ 2014
Directed by: Toti Loureiro
Paulo lost his virginity with Maria, the maid who lives in his house. Amid
the chaos and nerves of youth the social differences appear when he tells
that to his friend.
4pm
*The Sound of the Drum and the Maestro *(O Som do Tambor e o Maestro)
Documentary / 71’ / 2014
Directed by: Natasha Pravaz
Maninho is a gifted musician who was raised in one of the cradles of samba:
Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro. He rose to become a star performer in
many of Brazil's most popular acts. Fate has transplanted him to Toronto,
where he strives to create a musical group, Batucada Carioca, that is true
to the Afro-Brazilian roots that nurtured him. He is followed not only by
passionate Anglo-Canadians, but also by transplanted immigrants like him,
who have found in Batucada a means towards social adaptation as well as a
map of their own identity. “Sound of the Drum and the Maestro†provides a
glimpse into the dreams, accomplishments and frustrations of local and
diasporic musicians as they give shape to the multicultural realities of a
twenty-first century cosmopolitan city.
*Screened with the short*
*Tokyo Village* (Jardim Tókio)
Fiction / 15’ / 2014
Directed by Rodrigo Grota
Yuki, a young woman who has just returned from Japan, is divided between
her family, studies and nightlife.
*6:30pm*
*Triunfo *(Triunfo)
Documentary / 84’ / 2014
Directed by Caue Angeli and Hernani Ramos
Nelson Triunfo’s story is unique in Brazil. He is currently well-known as
one of the main promoters of black music and as “the father of the
hip-hopâ€
in Brazil. Until he achieved this position, he faced several difficulties,
such as prejudice and police repression (especially during the military
dictatorship), when his dance style was rated as “subversive.†The
story of
Nelson Triunfo’s life is now a reference in contemporary Brazilian
culture. Nowadays,
besides living from his art, “the danceâ€, he is also head of the House of
Hip-Hop in Diadema City. There, he keeps a very important social project
along with the local community, rescuing teenagers from sad and violent
scenarios and showing them four hip-hop elements: Graffiti, Dance, DJ, and
Mc.
*Screened with the short*
*Black or White! *(Preto ou Branco!)
Fiction / 15’ / 2013
Directed by Alison Zago
Brazil, 1970. During the Brazilian military dictatorship, the journalist
Eduardo Pena will discover that his conscience can be his worst enemy.
9pm
*Love, Plastic, and Noise (Amor, Pástico e Barulho)*
Fiction / 87’/ 2013
Directed by Renata Pinheiro
Meet Shelly, a young dancer who dreams of becoming a singer, and Jaqueline,
an experienced singer who has already scored some hits but is bitterly
seeing her career decline. They are companions in the music band Brega,
within a romantic and sensual music scene from the Brazilian suburbs. Placed
in a nightclub and local TV program show business where everything is
disposable, including success, love and human relationships, they seem to
form
a single path of life, where Shelly is Jaqueline’s possible past and
Jaqueline is Shelly’s likely future.
*Screened with the short*
*Severino’s Dream *(Severo: Um Sonho Severino)
Fiction / 9’50†/ 2014
Directed by: Danilo Baracho
Severo lives a harsh live. His brother is a thief and his mother doesn't
want her children to go to school. She prefers that they hit the streets to
help out financially. He has dreams of playing soccer for the national
team, but the opportunities he has been given in life already dictate his
future.
Sunday, October 19th
4pm
*Learning to Read to Teach My Fellows* (Aprender a Ler para Ensinar meus
Camaradas)
Documentay / 84’ / 2014
Directed by João Guerra
The film follows two Angolan musicians who travel to Bahia, Brazil, on a
journey in search of traces of lost ancient roots. Besides participating in
a major concert, they meet other musicians and investigate elements of
their own identity, coming across interesting discoveries. This musical
documentary addresses African inheritance out of Africa, which is found
thanks to music
*Screened with the short*
*Huntsman* (Caçador)
Fiction / 19’ / 2014
Directed by Rafael Duarte and TaÃsa Ennes Marques
After the untimely death of his father, the young huntsman struggles to
defend the borders of his territory. The encounter with the Other can be
much more difficult than it seems.
CLOSING SCREENING - October 19th at 6 pm
*June – The Riots in Brazil* (Junho – O Mês que Abalou o Brazil)
Documentary / 72’ / 2014
Directed by João Wainer
In the month of the Brazil World Cup, the documentary shows how the
demonstrations against an increase in public transportation fares in São
Paulo in June of 2013, evolved to national scale, reaching hundreds of
cities. The movement took over one million people to the streets and it
became an uprising against corruption, the lack of public services and the
copious spending on the World Cup. The film proposes a reflection on the
changes conquered by protesters and asks the question: will tomorrow be
bigger?
*Screened with the short*
*Rhythms of Resistance* (Ritmos da Resistência)
Documentary / 29’ / 2014
Directed by Jason O’Hara
As Rio de Janeiro prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics,
the city introduces a controversial new policing program (Pacifying Police
Units - UPPs) in the slums (favelas). Shortly after the police invade the
favela of Cantagalo, lifetime resident and acclaimed samba composer -
Cathola - is gunned down by the UPP and nearly dies. As Cathola
recuperates, his samba composition wins the championships and is selected
to be performed at Rio's most prestigious Carnaval parade. Cathola's story
weaves together with the intimate personal stories of other artists who are
resisting against police brutality and social exclusion through their music
and performance art. The artists question the rhetoric of pacification and
debate to what extent the arrival of UPPs are intensifying the
criminalization of poverty in Rio.
*ABOUT BRAFFTV*
BRAFFTV – Brazilian Film and TV Festival brings the best of recent
Brazilian cinematography to Toronto. Featuring documentaries, workshops,
animated, feature and short films, BRAFFTV creates a space where Canadian
and Brazilian film industry professionals can exchange knowledge. In the
past seven years, BRAFFTV presented over 300 films and brought over 60
filmmakers to Toronto. The 2014 edition will bring North American and
Canadian premieres.
The Festival will be held from *October 16th to October 19th, 2014* at
*Carlton Cinema *(20 Carlton Street). www.BRAFFTV.com <http://www.brafftv.com/>.
*ABOUT SOUTHERN MIRRORS*
Southern Mirrors is a Toronto-based company that brings you the best in
international culture. It strives to present projects that contain
universal themes that transcend cultural and geographic boundaries, such
as: Nelson Rodrigues Festival, Upto3’, Expressions of Brazil at
Harbourfront Centre, among others.
*ABOUT PUENTE*
Puente is a Brazilian company specialized in creating, producing and
promoting festivals and events in Africa (Tanzania), South America (Chile)
and Canada. It is a door to the Brazilian market, helping Canadian and
North American companies to find the right people and to create tools to
improve their businesses in Brazil.
(Barbara de la Fuente* BRAFFTV press@brafftv.com)
