FAU-LATC BRAZILIAN FILM SERIES 2018:
The film selected to kick off the series is the new docu-drama "Dear Ambassador" directed by Luiz Fernando Goulart and produced by Joaquim Vaz Carvalho. It dramatizes the extraordinary story of Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas, who served as Brazilian Ambassador to Paris during WWII. A largely unsung hero, he defied his own government’s orders by granting hundreds of unauthorized visas to Jews and others facing imminent capture and death. Consisting of reenactments, interviews with survivors, and archival footage, “Dear Ambassador” commemorates Brazil’s counterpart to Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, who like them was awarded posthumously the title Righteous Among the Nations at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
Sunday, February 4, 2 pm, University Theatre, FAU Boca Raton campus. See below for parking/direction details.
Encantados (Encantados)
Thursday, March 1st 2018, 7pm
Livingroom Theaters (FAU Boca Raton Campus)
Director: Tizuka Yamasaki
Production Company: Scena Filmes
Release Date: 2014
Principal Cast: Letícia Sabatella, José Mayer, Dira Paes
Region/State: Amazonas State
Synopsis: Zeneida, a young girl of mixed blood, is unique -- more daring, stubborn, and probably the smartest of her ten siblings. But when they move to Marajó Island, she feels suffocated. In constant clashes with her family – and her overbearing father during his intermittent visits – she surrenders to her fantasies, running away with her enigmatic island friend, Antonio. Ultimately, she defies her own demons to wander beyond the path that life had seemingly chosen for her. A captivating performance by the young actress, Carolina Oliveira.
O Quatrilho (O Quatrilho)
Thursday, April 5th 2018, 7pm
Performing Arts Building, Room 101, FAU Boca Raton campus
Director: Fabio Barreto
Production Company: Filmes do Equador
Release Date: 1995
Principal Cast: Glória Pires, Patricia Pillar, Alexandre Paternost, Bruno Campos
Region/State: Rio Grande do Sul State
Synopsis: Quatrilho is a Brazilian four-card game in which the player has to deceive his partner in order to win. The film follows the story of two Italian immigrant couples living in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the early 20th century. As they struggle to adjust to an unfamiliar environment, an unexpected love between Massimo and Teresa emerges. Defying family ties and cultural traditions, they head to a new destiny, leaving their partners behind.
Featured presenter: Dr. Ilaria Serra, Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Studies at Florida Atlantic University, who will introduce the film and lead the post-screening Q&A.
Margaret Mee and the Moonflower (Margarete Mee e a Flor da Lua)
Thursday, May 3rd 3018, 7pm
Performing Arts Building, Room 101, FAU Boca Raton campus
Director: Malu de Martino
Production Company: E.H. Filmes
Release Date: 2013
Principal Cast: Patricia Pilar
Region/State: Amazonas State
Synopsis: Margaret Mee, a pioneer botanical illustrator, moved to Brazil in the 1950s and used her more than 400 illustrations of Brazilian flora to establish a reputation as one of foremost environmental advocates of her era. This documentary draws on her diaries, interviews and commentaries to reveal a tireless fighter on behalf of the fragile ecosystem in the world’s largest remaining forested area.
Featured Presenter: Dr. Johnna Infanti, Climatologist and PACE Postdoctoral Fellow at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami, who will introduce the film and lead the post-screening Q&A.
Terra Vermelha (Birdwatchers)
Thursday, July 19th 2018, 7pm
Performing Arts Building, Room 101, FAU Boca Raton campus
Director: Marco Bechis
Production Company: Classic, Karta, Gullane, Rai Cinema
Release Date: 2008
Principal Cast: Claudio Santamaria, Chiara Caselli, Matheus Nachtergaele
Region/State: Mato Grosso do Sul State
Synopsis: Shot over 10 weeks in 2007, “Birdwatchers” focuses on a group of Guaraní-Kaiowá as they attempt to reclaim their land from a local farmer. While birdwatching tourists enjoy the attentions of a wealthy cattle rancher, the Guaraní-Kaiowá eke out a precarious existence, laboring on sugar cane plantations and living in a shabby squatter settlement. The film courageously documents the contradictory lives of the Guaraní-Kaiowá, who appear engaging in age-old traditions in one moment, but in the next listening to techno music while consuming potent Brazilian rum as an intoxicant.
Film sponsored by: FAU's Certificate in Caribbean and Latin American Studies
Featured presenter: Dr. Barbara Ganson, Professor of History and Director of the Certificate in Caribbean and Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Florida Atlantic University, who will introduce the film and lead the post-screening Q&A.
Palavra (En)cantada (Palavra (En)cantada)
Thursday, September 6th 2018, 7pm
Living Room Theaters (FAU Boca Raton Campus)
Production Company: Radiante Filmes
Release Date: 2009
Principal Cast: Arnaldo Antunes, Maria Betânia, Chico Buarque, Antônio Cícero
Region/State: Rio de Janeiro
Synopsis: What literature is to France, music is to Brasil, where poets write lyrics and lyricists wax poetic to contribute to an explosion of popular musical styles. This musical documentary weaves archival footage with discussions of contemporary Brazilian music with some of its great contemporary composers and performers.
Featured Presenter: Dr. Joey Bargsten, Associate Professor in Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University, and interactive multimedia composer/filmmaker, recipient of the 2013 Miami Knight Art Challenge Award, who will introduce the film and lead the post-screening Q&A.
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos)
Thursday, October 4th 2018, 7pm
Living Room Theaters (FAU Boca Raton Campus)
Production Company: Produções cinematográficas L.C. Barreto
Release Date: 1976
Principal Cast: Sônia Braga, José Wilker, Mauro Mendonça
Region/State: Bahia State
Synopsis: Flor misses Vadinho, her spendthrift, philandering husband, who drops dead while dancing in a carnival street party. Flor’s friends persuade her to remarry Teodoro, a respectable pharmacist who is smitten by her. Teodoro is considerate, loyal, the last person to take her savings to enjoy amorous escapades, but he is a crushing bore. Flor begins to pine for the pleasures she once enjoyed, despite her devotion to her new husband. Then, on the anniversary of his death, a naked Vadinho reappears to Flor in her bedroom . . .
Featured Presenter: Anthony Guneratne, Professor of Communication and Multimedia Studies, editor of an anthology on film movements that originated in Brazil, Argentina and Cuba, Rethinking Third Cinema, and the director of FAU’s Graduate Certificate in Film and Culture.
Gonzaga: De Pai para Filho (Gonzaga – From Father to Son)
Thursday, November 1st 2018, 7PM
Living Room Theaters (FAU Boca Raton Campus)
Director: Breno SilveiraProduction Company: Conspiração Filmes
Release Date: 2012
Principal Cast: Chambinho do Acordeon, Júlio Andrade, Nanda Costa.
Region/State: Northeastern/ Ceará, Pernambuco
Synopsis: Separated as much by their political and artistic views as by family circumstances, father and son Luiz Gonzaga and Gonzaguinho proved united in their love of music and love for each other. This uniquely Brazilian take on the musical biopic chronicles a family saga that transformed a regional musical form from Pernambuco into a thriving national musical genre. Featured Presenter: FAU Associate Professor of Music Dr. James E. Cunningham is an ethnomusicologist with a strong background in global traditional and popular musics. His interest in Brazilian music is informed by his love of forró, as well as by his 15-year directorship of the FAU Escola de Arts samba ensemble.
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias)
Thursday, December 6th 2018, 7pm
Living Room Theaters (FAU Boca Raton Campus)
Production Company: Gullane Films, Caos Produções
Release Date: 2006
Principal Cast: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Paulo Autran
Region/State: São Paulo
Synopsis: Prior to the 1970 World Cup, Daniel and Miriam suddenly leave Belo Horizonte and drive to São Paulo with their ten-year-old son Mauro, where he will stay with his grandfather Mótel while they go on vacation. They promise to be back in time the Brazilian National Soccer Team´s first game. Mauro waits in front of Mótel´s apartment, but when his next-door-neighbor, Shlomo, arrives, he tells the boy that Mótel died suddenly. The bewildered boy is sheltered by Shlomo and the Jewish community, including a young neighbor, Hanna, who helps him make new friends, even as he watches the military police maneuver on the streets while waiting for his parents to return.
Featured presenter: Dr. Myriam Ruthenberg, Professor of Italian at Florida Atlantic University and Cavaliere nell'Ordine della Stella dellla Solidarietà italiana, who will introduce the film and lead the post-screening Q&A.
Directions to Living Room Theaters
- Florida Atlantic University is located 1/2 mile east of I-95 on Glades Road.
- Turn left into FAU's main entrance.
- Make the first right on Indian River Street.
- Make the third left on Palm Beach Avenue.
- Living Room Theaters is located straight ahead on the left side of Palm Beach Avenue.
- Park in any red-lined space (or blue if you have a handicap tag) in front of the building - unless you are FAU faculty or students.