“Brasilia: The Art of Cinema”: Sign up to attend film mini-course

You can now reserve your spot for FGV Art’s first series of film showings. “Brasilia: The Art of Cinema” is a partnership with the Film Club at Fundação Getulio Vargas School’s of Social Sciences (FGV CPDOC) and the National Museum of the Republic, focusing on Brazil’s capital city. Four films will be shown, each followed by a discussion.

The selected films reflect a variety of perspectives on Brasilia and its inhabitants, including the city’s political and architectural impact and the personal and collective experiences of those who built it and those who live in it. This diversity is essential to understanding this complex city, which is both a symbol of modernity and the setting for deep social inequalities. By bringing together different voices and narratives, the exhibition will celebrate the cultural and social multiplicity of the federal capital and the challenges that reflect the tensions and aspirations of contemporary Brazil.

This initiative showcases Brasilia, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is worth noting that as well as being widely portrayed in Brazilian cinema, the city is a hub for film production. It has inspired local filmmakers, who have explored its urban landscapes, political environment and social stories.

Check out the schedule:

August 8, 2024, 6 p.m.

“The JK Years – A Political Trajectory,” by Silvio Tendler, Rio de Janeiro, Caliban, 1980 (110 minutes)

Summary: This documentary retraces the political career of President Juscelino Kubitschek, with an emphasis on his “50 Years in 5” project. Using archive footage and testimonies from political personalities, the film covers topics such as the consolidation of democracy in Brazil, industrialization and the construction of Brasilia.

Debater: Bárbara Goulart

August 13, 2024, 6 p.m.

“Oscar Niemeyer: Life Is a Breath,” by Fabiano Maciel, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Clara, 2007 (90 minutes)

Summary: This documentary focuses on the views of architect Oscar Niemeyer, who talks about his ideals, the way he works and the design of his main projects, including Brasilia. Archive footage and interviews with artists, architects, politicians and intellectuals help portray the life of the main character.

Debaters: João Niemeyer and José Carlos Sussekind

August 22, 2024, 5 p.m.

“Old War Comrades,” by Vladimir Carvalho, Sagres Filmes (175 minutes)

Summary: This documentary presents the social actors who migrated from various parts of Brazil, especially the northeast, and arrived in Brasilia to work on the construction of the future Brazilian capital. Their testimonies depict their cruel struggles, disappointments and working conditions, which led to a large number of deaths of those who became known as “candangos.”

Debaters: Vladimir Carvalho and Carlos Alberto Mattos

August 29, 2024, 6 p.m.

Series of short films

• “Candango City,” by Ícaro Jatobá, Rio de Janeiro, CPDOC NAD, 2019 (13 minutes)

Summary: In 1959, Paulo Firmino, a migrant from northeastern Brazil, arrived in Brasilia, which was being built at a frantic pace. He had dreams of easy money and a better life but ended up doing grueling work.

(Film produced during the 6th Audiovisual Production Workshop run by FGV CPDOC’s Audiovisual and Documentary Center)

• “The Members of the Constitutional Convention,” by Gregory Baltz, Rio de Janeiro, CPDOC NAD, 2018 (14 minutes)

Summary: Within the Constitutional Convention, which was mainly composed of men, the 26 women who helped draft the 1988 Constitution united across party lines to champion gender equality in discussions of social and political rights.

(Film produced during the 5th Audiovisual Production Workshop run by FGV CPDOC’s Audiovisual and Documentary Center, and selected for the 24th edition of the “It’s All True” international film festival)

• “Time to Fall,” by Gabriela Daldegan and João Vasconcelos. Brasilia, 2021 (30 minutes)

Summary: This film tells the story of the people who occupied part of the Square of the Three Branches of Government, close to the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center. The occupiers denounce the cruelty of the state, which illegally and violently destroys the shacks of families who have nowhere else to go.

• “Leukemia,” by Noilton Nunes, Rio de Janeiro, Lente Filmes, 1978 (9 minutes)

Summary: Based on the testimony of Maria Helena Moreira Alves, sister of Marcio Moreira Alves, the federal representative who was removed from office in 1968, the film looks at the Brazilian political context and an event that took place in 1978 at Lisbon’s international airport involving a Brazilian couple in exile in Portugal.

Debaters: Ícaro Jatobá, Gregory Baltz and Noilton Nunes

Mini-course

The mini-course consists of four meetings in August, each involving a film showing followed by a discussion. The participants who attend at least 75% of the events will receive a certificate.

Date: August 8 to 29, 2024
Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Venue: FGV Art, 190 Praia de Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro

To sign up, click here.