MoMA & Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival Present PREMIERE BRAZIL! 2012, Now thru 7/24

The Museum of Modern Art and the Rio de Janeiro International
Film Festival present Premiere Brazil! 2012, running today, July 12 through July 24, 2012, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters. The annual festival introduces New York audiences to original and accomplished work by both new and established Brazilian filmmakers. Premiere Brazil! is organized by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of MOdern Art; and Ilda Santiago and Vilma Lustosa, Directors, the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival.

To celebrate the 10th edition of Premiere Brazil!, MoMA presents exciting new works by filmmakers featured in previous years, including Eduardo Coutinho (the subject of a Premiere Brazil! retrospective in 2009), whose moving documentary Songs explores the most intimate meaning of the songs in our lives; Beto Brant, whose third appearance, I’d Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips (co-directed with Renato Ciasco), is a sensual melodrama set against a steamy Amazonian backdrop; Selton Mello, who premiered his first film in the 2009 edition and returns with the enchanting tragicomedy The Clown; Breno Silveira, whose Two Sons of Francisco screened in 2006 and who opens this series with Roadside; and Eryk Rocha, whose inspired narrative feature debut, Passerby, builds on the promise of his short films from previous Premiere Brazil! incarnations.

A special highlight of the 10th anniversary are two films, made by seven young directors, about life in the favelas: 5 x Favela: Now By Ourselves, a collection of five fiction shorts about various aspects of favela-dwelling; and Peace in Rio, a documentary about the controversial social policing of the favelas. In conjunction with Premiere Brazil! and co-presented with Cinema Tropical and VOCES, the Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times Company, a round table discussion, titled “Film and Social Change: The Case of Rio’s Favelas,” focusing on issues raised by these two films, takes place at The New York Times building on Monday, July 16, at 6:00 p.m. In addition to the filmmakers, the panel includes Jose Mariano Beltrame, and filmmaker/mentor Carlos Dieguez, and will be moderated by New York Times reporter Larry Rohter. Admission is free and an RSVP to rsvp@cinematropical.com or (212) 254-5474 is required.

Talented newcomers are also showcased in Premiere Brazil!, including Kiko Goifman and Claudia Priscilla, whose Look at Me Again is an astonishing documentary about Silvyo Lucio, who was born a woman and became a man; as well as Vinicius Coimbra, whose Brazilian Western about redemption and revenge, Matraga, shows an impressive grasp of period recreation. Celebrating a masterpiece of the Cinema Novo era, a restored print of Leon Hirszman’s beloved and much-awarded 1972 drama Sao Bernardo screens on Monday, July 16. All films in the series are from Brazil and in Portuguese with English subtitles.

On Thursday, June 12, in conjunction with Premiere Brazil! 2012, the MoMA Nights
summer music series presents the young Brazilian singer-songwriter Mauricio Pessoa and his
ensemble, who draw from bossa nova, samba, and jazz, and represent a rising generation of
artists determined to keep great Brazilian musical traditions thriving in a global context.

Hours: Films are screened Wednesday-Monday. For screening schedules, please visit the Film Exhibitions page.

Film Admission: $12 adults; $10 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $8 full-time students with current I.D. (for admittance to film programs only.) The price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket when a film ticket stub is presented at the Lobby Information Desk within 30 days of the date on the stub (does not apply during Target Free Friday Nights, 4:00–8:00 p.m.). Admission is free for Museum members and for Museum ticketholders.

SCREENING SCHEDULE: Premiere Brazil!

June 12–24, 2012
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters

7:00 A Beira do Caminho (Roadside). INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE. 2012. Directed by Breno Silveira. With Joa?o Miguel, Dira Paes, Vini?cius Nascimento. 100 min.

Joao, a solitary truck driver, rides the seemingly endless highways of Brazil, headed nowhere. Joa?o’s story is not unique; he is just another man running away from something, but by chance or by luck, Joa?o comes across a youngster, full of faith in life and its promises, who is searching for the father he has never met. By drawing inspiration from the classic popular songs of Roberto Carlos that appear on the soundtrack, Silveira has created a moving and imaginative (not to mention well-acted) story of a man who hits the road to forget the heartache of his past, and a meeting that changes the future of both man and boy. Director in attendance.

Friday, July 13

5:00 Coracoes Sujos (Dirty Hearts). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Vicente Amorim. Based on the novel by Fernando Morais. With Tsuyoshi Ihara, Takako Tokiwa, Eduardo Moscovis. 107 min.

When Japan's surrender ended World War II, a new war started in Brazil, between Japanese immigrants who accepted the defeat and those who did not. Dirty Hearts tells this little-known story as seen through the eyes of a woman whose husband becomes embroiled with the Shindo Renmei, a Japanese-Brazilian terrorist group active in Sa?o Paulo in the 1940s. Her mounting horror is palpable as she and their small daughter watch him succumb to nationalism and fanaticism. Neighbor turns against neighbor in their isolated, alienated community of immigrants who are already treated like second-class citizens by the native Brazilians. Director in attendance.

8:00 Heleno. NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Jose? Henrique Fonseca. With Rodrigo Santoro, Alinne Moraes, Angie Cepeda. 107 min.

Handsome, intelligent, and born into a wealthy family, Heleno de Freitas had one boyhood dream: to play football. His chances of playing for Brazil in the World Cup faded when consecutive tournaments were cancelled during World War II, and by the 1950 World Cup his career—and his health—were on the wane. In a reflection of Brazil's decreased prosperity during the 1940s, Heleno's great promise and dreams were crushed by the weight of real life. The film's flashbacks re-create the glamorous, romantic Rio of the 1940s as an oasis amid chaos. Santoro's strong lead performance, based on the real life of Brazil’s first soccer star, opens up the story to belong to anyone who has ever been consumed by the very dream that first inspired them. Director in attendance.

Saturday, July 14

2:00 Os U?ltimos Cangaceiros (The Last Cangaceiros). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Wolney Oliveira. 79 min.

For more than half a century Durvinha and Moreno hid their real identities, even from their own children. The truth was only revealed when Moreno, at age 95, decided to share the heavy weight of memory with his children and reunite with living relatives. Despite its traditional structure, this documentary tells the very unusual story of a duo who once belonged to a gang led by the legendary Lampia?o, the most famous and controversial leader of the cangac?o peasant bandits. The revelation turns Durvinha and Moreno into folk heroes, and the film captures how the disclosure of their true past affects their relationships with family, friends, and strangers. Director in attendance.

5:00 Olhe pra Mim de Novo (Look at Me Again). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Kiko Goifman, Claudia Priscilla. 77 min.

Silvyo Lucio’s story is intriguingly complex: born a woman, she lived as a lesbian before eventually becoming a man. In this road-movie trip through northeastern Brazil, Silvyo searches for a family and for a medical answer to his and his wife’s greatest wish: to have a child who shares their DNA. Along the way he meets with people from different minorities—others who feel different, outcast—and as he goes deeper into the serta?o, Silvyo’s own story surfaces, rich with the pain of transition and transformation in the face of a traditional, fundamentalist upbringing. This is a revealing portrait of a resilient human being’s search for what it is to be a man from the wilderness, “a real macho.”

8:00 Transeunte (Passerby). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2010. Directed by Eryk Rocha. With Fernando Bezerra, Jose? Paes de Lira, Luciana Domschke. 125 min.

Bezerra gives an astonishingly organic performance as Expedito, a retired, brooding sixty-something who has lost all ties to life and aimlessly walks the streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro. His almost imperceptible steps toward rejoining the living are marked by the film's intricate sound design, which forms the backbone of what is essentially a cinematic poem teetering between documentary and fiction. Listening in on the dramas of others, either on his ever-present radio or in conversations overheard in the streets and crowded restaurants, he gradually makes these sounds part of his own reality. The gorgeous black-and-white cinematography allows Rocha to play with past and present, mixing what was and what is into a beautifully calibrated feature debut. Director in attendance.

Sunday, July 15

2:30 5 x Favela – Agora por no?s Mesmos (5 x Favela: Now By Ourselves). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2010. Rice and Beans. Directed by Cacau Amaral, Rodrigo Felha; Concert for Violin. Directed by Luciano Vidigal; Let It Fly. Directed by Cadu Barcellos; Let There Be Light. Directed by Luciana Bezerra; Source of Income. Directed by Manai?ra Carneiro, Wagner Novais. Produced by Carlos Diegues, Renata de Almeida Magalha?es. 103 min.

This five- episode film was created and developed entirely by young Rio de Janeiro favela residents who took part in introductory workshops and attended master classes with some of Brazil’s most experienced directors. The result is an omnibus film comprising five independent narratives, both comic and tragic, which reflect the multifarious facets of daily life in the favela. Directors and producers in attendance.

5:00 Palhac?o (The Clown). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Selton Mello. With Paulo Jose?, Selton Mello. 88 min.

This charming, lighthearted dramedy, cowritten and directed by lead actor Mello, explores identity and the road to self-acceptance. The Circo Esperanc?a (Circus Hope) roams the valleys and mountains of southwestern Brazil. Among its hodgepodge of misfits are a father/son clown duo who make a living making people laugh. In one pivotal scene, Pangare? asks, “I make people laugh, but who will make me laugh?” His father responds, “In life we have to do what we know how to do.” By capturing the seemingly insignificant moments that make up life in a family or small community, Mello evokes a special time and space and makes it intimately recognizable.

7:30 Eu Receberia as Piores Noti?cias dos seus Lindos La?bios (I’d Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca. With Gustavo Machado, Camila Pitanga. 104 min.

As the film opens, Cauby, a photographer living in the lush Brazilian Amazon, and his lover, the alluring Lavi?nia, make passionate love, introducing us into the fiery, all-consuming world of the lovers, whose affair remains a secret from the townsfolk—and Lavi?nia’s husband, the town priest. Directors Brant and Ciasca use exquisite camerawork, delicate pale-hued flashbacks, and beautifully unselfconscious performances to provide a glance at eternal love and the struggle between the yearnings of the body and the necessities of the soul. Directors in attendance.

Monday, July 16

4:00 5 x Pacificac?a?o (Peace in Rio). U.S. PREMIERE. 2012. Directed by Wagner Novais, Rodrigo Felha, Luciano Vidigal, Cadu Barcellos. 96 min.

The establishment of the Unidade de Poli?cia Pacificadora (which translates roughly as “Police Unit with a Mandate to Pacify,” or UPP for short) was the first step toward consolidating a new security policy in the federal state of Rio de Janeiro. The stated aim was to occupy territories in the favelas controlled by the drug mafia, and thus to liberate the inhabitants. Directed by four of the young filmmakers behind 5 x Favela: Now By Ourselves (2010), this documentary captures many contrasting viewpoints via interviews with favela dwellers, drug dealers, police, and others both inside and outside the community, providing a nuanced examination of the controversial UPP. Directors in attendance.

6:00 TROPICHAT Film as Social Change: The Case of Rio’s Favelas

OFF-SITE EVENT Presented as part of Premiere Brazil!, the annual collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Copresented with Cinema Tropical and VOCES, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times Company. Admission is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please RSVP to rsvp@cinematropical.com or (212) 254-5474.

Location: The New York Times: 15th Floor Conference Center, 620 Eighth Avenue (Between 40 and 41 Streets).

8:00 Sa?o Bernardo. 1972. Directed by Leon Hirszman. With Othon Bastos, Rodolfo Arena, Luiz Carlos Braga. 113 min.

A beautifully restored print from Cinemateca Brasileira has revived this masterpiece of the Cinema Novo era, returning the color cinematography of Lauro Escorel to its original glory. Based on the novel by Graciliano Ramos, Sa?o Bernardo is narrated in flashbacks by Paulo Hono?rio (Bastos), who reflects on his rise from extreme poverty to wealth as a plantation owner. His economic success—and tyrannical ways—have isolated him from the people around him, including his wife, Madalena. In a powerful indictment of capitalist greed and brutality, set amid Brazil’s northeastern serta?o, the film’s central character is forced to question his life’s trajectory and the condition of his soul.

Tuesday, July 17

4:30 5 x Favela – Agora por no?s Mesmos (5 x Favela: Now By Ourselves). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2010. Rice and Beans. Directed by Cacau Amaral, Rodrigo Felha; Concert for Violin. Directed by Luciano Vidigal; Let It Fly. Directed by Cadu Barcellos; Let There Be Light. Directed by Luciana Bezerra; Source of Income. Directed by Manai?ra Carneiro, Wagner Novais. Produced by Carlos Diegues, Renata de Almeida Magalha?es. 103 min. (See Sunday, July 15, 2:30).

8:00 A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga (Matraga). INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Vini?cius Coimbra. With Joa?o Miguel, Vanessa Gerbelli, Jose? Wilker, Chico Anysio. 106 min.

Based on a short story by the esteemed Brazilian author Guimara?es Rosa, Matraga tells an age-old story of honor and sacrifice, redemption and revenge, as illustrated by the life of Augusto Matraga. A failed farmer and a violent soul, he acts as if he were above the laws of the rural Minas Gerais region—until the day he is ambushed and left for dead. Given a second chance, Matraga seeks redemption through faith and arduous labor. Years later he meets Joa?ozinho Bem-Bem, a powerful landlord, and their friendship triggers events that lead to a conflict within Matraga between his saintly tendencies and his warrior instincts. Coimbra's debut feature, a stunningly original take on the Western, perfectly captures its milieu through effective use of the Brazilian landscape and crisp, elegant cinematography.

Wednesday, July 18

4:00 Heleno. NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Jose? Henrique Fonseca. With Rodrigo
Santoro, Alinne Moraes, Angie Cepeda. 107 min. (See Friday, July 13, 8:00).
7:00 As Canc?o?es (Songs). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Eduardo Coutinho. 92 min.

Comprised of 18 “sessions” (chosen from 42 total), this astonishingly simple, emotionally compelling documentary delves into the songs that hold meaning in people's lives. Director Coutinho reverses the traditional documentary practice of bringing the camera to the subject and instead invites the subjects to come to the camera. Sitting before a simple screen, the director engages his subjects in conversation about the song they picked, developing a rapport that allows for exceptionally involving, deeply personal stories about music and its intimate connection to memory, love, loss, self-discovery, regret, death, and life.

Thursday, July 19

4:00 A? Beira do Caminho (Roadside). INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE. 2012. Directed by Breno Silveira. With Joa?o Miguel, Dira Paes, Vini?cius Nascimento. 100 min. (See Thursday, July 12, 7:00).

7:00 Os U?ltimos Cangaceiros (The Last Cangaceiros). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Wolney Oliveira. 79 min. (See Saturday, July 14, 2:00).

Friday, July 20

4:00 Palhac?o (The Clown). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Selton Mello. With Paulo Jose?, Selton Mello. 88 min. (See Sunday, July 15, 5:00).

7:00 Transeunte (Passerby). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2010. Directed by Eryk Rocha. With Fernando Bezerra, Jose? Paes de Lira, Luciana Domschke. 125 min. (See Saturday, July 14, 8:00).
Saturday, July 21 1:30 5 x Pacificac?a?o (Peace in Rio). U.S. PREMIERE. 2012. Directed by Wagner Novais, Rodrigo Felha, Luciano Vidigal, Cadu Barcellos. 96 min. (See Monday, July 16, 4:30).

4:00 Sa?o Bernardo. 1972. Directed by Leon Hirszman. With Othon Bastos, Rodolfo Arena, Luiz Carlos Braga. 113 min. (See Monday, July 16, 8:00).

Sunday, July 22

2:00 As Canc?o?es (Songs). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Eduardo Coutinho. 92 min. (See Wednesday, July 18, 7:00).

5:00 A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga (Matraga). INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Vini?cius Coimbra. With Joa?o Miguel, Vanessa Gerbelli, Jose? Wilker, Chico Anysio. 106 min. (See Tuesday, July 17, 8:00).

Monday, July 23

4:00 Olhe pra Mim de Novo (Look at Me Again). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by
Kiko Goifman, Claudia Priscilla. 77 min. (See Saturday, July 14, 5:00).

7:00 Corac?o?es Sujos (Dirty Hearts). U.S. PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Vicente Amorim. Based on the novel by Fernando Morais. With Tsuyoshi Ihara, Takako Tokiwa, Eduardo Moscovis. 107 min. (See Friday, July 13, 5:00).

Tuesday, July 24

4:00 Eu Receberia as Piores Noti?cias dos seus Lindos La?bios (I’d Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips). NEW YORK PREMIERE. 2011. Directed by Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca. With Gustavo Machado, Camila Pitanga. 104 min. (See Sunday, July 15 7:30).

Photo: Palhaço (The Clown). 2011. Brazil. Directed by Selton Mello. With Paulo José, Selton Mello. Pictured: Paulo Jose. Image courtesy of Guilherme Maia.