BAM and Triple Canopy Present BRAZILIAN MODERNISM AT 100

Co-presented by the magazine Triple Canopy, Brazilian Modernism at 100 commemorates the bicentennial of Brazil's independence and the 100th anniversary of the legendary 1922 Modern Art Week in São Paulo, which inaugurated a new, uniquely Brazilian sensibility.

The films featured in this series highlight the legacy of Brazilian modernism's provocation, inventiveness, and pursuit of pluralism as a counterweight to colonial history. Spanning six decades of Brazilian cinema, the program includes the groundbreaking silent film Limite (Mário Peixoto, 1931-Feb 13), Cinema Novo classics from the 1960s-Macunaíma (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969-Feb 11) and Antônio das Mortes (Glauber Rocha, 1969-Feb 15)-that revisit the revolutionary 1920s spirit with Tropicalismo's political consciousness.

The series features two U.S. premieres: Cinema Marginal director Júlio Bressane's Miramar (1997, Feb 13) and Searching for Makunaíma (Rodrigo Séllos, 2020-Feb 12), a recent documentary on the mythical Indigenous hero who inspired Mário de Andrade's 1928 modernist classic, Macunaíma. Director Rodrigo Séllos will be at BAM for a post-screening Q&A. Also featured in Brazilian Modernism at 100 is Brazilwood Man (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1982-Feb 13), a fantasy comedy depicting the iconic Brazilian modernist writer Oswald de Andrade, and the short film Of Murals & Mosaics (Vivian Ostrovsky, 2010-Feb 13), a look at mid-century murals, screening with Miramar. Director Vivian Ostrovsky will introduce the screening.

This program coincides with Triple Canopy's publication of an excerpt from guest programmer Katrina Dodson's new translation of Macunaíma: The Hero With No Character (New Directions, 2023), as part of Unknown States, an issue on the fictions of nationalism.

Additional support from Brazil LAB at Princeton University

Macunaíma (1969) Dir. Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. With Grande Otelo, Paulo José, Jardel Filho. Cinema Novo pioneer Joaquim Pedro de Andrade adapts Mário de Andrade's 1928 modernist masterpiece in a work of genre-bending Tropicalismo, mixing myth, comedy, and a critique of Brazil's 1960s military dictatorship. Digital. 95min. Fri, Feb 11 at 7pm

*Panel discussion with series programmer Katrina Dodson, director Rodrigo Séllos, with additional panelists to be announced soon, moderated by Triple Canopy senior editor Matthew Shen Goodman

Searching for Makunaíma (2020) Dir. Rodrigo Séllos. A documentary tracing Brazil's most famous fictional character, writer Mário de Andrade's modernist hero, Macunaíma, to his origins as Makunaíma, a mythic ancestor of Indigenous people in the northern Amazon. 84min. DCP. Sat, Feb 12 at 7pm

*Post-screening Q&A with director Rodrigo Séllos, moderated by Katrina Dodson

Brazilwood Man (1982) Dir. Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. With Ítala Nandi, Flávio Galvão. The iconic Brazilian modernist writer Oswald de Andrade is played by two actors-representing his feminine anima and his masculine side-in this fantasy comedy by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. 106min. Digital. Sun, Feb 13 at 2pm

Miramar (1997) Dir. Júlio Bressane + Of Murals & Mosaics (2010) Dir. Vivian Ostrovsky. Júlio Bressane's portrait of a young filmmaker, loosely adapted from Oswald de Andrade's 1924 bildungsroman, Sentimental Memories of João Miramar, screens with a video collage on mid-century muralist Paulo Werneck. Total runtime: 98min. Sun, Feb 13 at 4:30pm

*Intro by director Vivian Ostrovsky

Limite (1931) Dir. Mário Peixoto. With Iolanda Bernardes, Edgar Brasil, Mário Peixoto. New cinematic techniques constantly unfold in this extraordinary silent film, filled with luscious images and glorious Brazilian scenery. 120min. DCP. Sun, Feb 13 at 7pm

Antônio das Mortes (1969) Dir. Glauber Rocha. With Maurício do Valle, Lorival Pariz. Cinema Novo provocateur Glauber Rocha's revolutionary allegory about a retired assassin, a conflict between landowners and peasants, the battle for an old man's soul, and Brazil's future. 95min. 16mm. Tue, Feb 15 at 7pm.