BRAZIL IS ‘COUNTRY IN FOCUS’
11 films form part of this year’s Country Focus: Brazil at KASHISH 2016
NARRATIVE FEATURES
1. BOYS IN BRAZIL
Dir: Alexandre Carvalho / 2015 / 92 min / Narrative Feature / Brazil
Boys In Brazil follows two friends Mauro and Rodrigo, Mauro’s uncle Vicente and a man they meet at Sao Paulo’s Pride Parade, Roger. After Roger is gay-bashed the quartet end up at Vicente’s apartment, where Mauro decides that something must be done about the fact they are all in the closet. He makes them promise that by next year’s parade, they will have all come out. But can they keep the promise?
2. REACHING FOR THE MOON
Dir: Bruno Barreto / 2013 / 118 min / Narrative Feature / Brazil
Frustrated poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her. Anchored by magnificent lead performances from Miranda Otto and Glória Pires, Reaching for the Moon is an intimate snapshot of the search for inspiration, wherever and however you find it.
3. TWO GIRLS DESCENDING THE STAIRS
Dir: Fabiano de Souza / 2015 / 108 min / Narrative Feature / Brazil
They’re complete opposites. Adri has an Art degree, but lives in that post-graduation limbo. Mona is a chill architect with plans and money to spare. A great passion is born, with the city in the background and the wind blowing the days away. Nine months, nine staircases and nine seasons of love.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
4. HERE COME THE BRIDES – THE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN BRAZIL
Dirs: Gabi Torrezani, Fabia Fuzeti / 2015 / 50 min / Documentary Feature / Brazil
A documentary about the history of the same-sex marriage in Brazil. It follows the wedding process of two Brazilian women Fabia and Gabi while also presenting the history of same-sex marriage in the country through interviews with LGBT activists, other gay couples and important political figures. The film celebrates what has been accomplished so far and points out what has to be done to ensure equal rights to same-sex couples and families.
5. MY NAME IS JACQUE (Original Title: Meu Nome É Jacque)
Dir: Angela Zoé / 2015 / 76 min / Documentary Feature / Brazil
The documentary “My name is Jacque” addresses the diversity through the life story of Jacqueline Rocha Cortes, a Brazilian transsexual woman who has been living with AIDS for 21 out of her 55 years of life. Militant for the cause, Jacque has her life marked by struggles and achievements, becoming a representative of the Brazilian Aids social movement, government and afterwards of the United Nations. Now married and mother of two, Jacque lives in a small town, leading her life dedicated to motherhood and family.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
6. BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS
Dir: Carolina de Azevedo / 2014 / 15 min / Documentary Short / Brazil
We are born into naked bodies that we strive to dress, decorate and change, in the hopes of reaching authenticity. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, seven people share their thoughts to burst the bubble of a much avoided topic.
NARRATIVE SHORT
7. FLOOZY SUZY (Original Title: Vagabunda de Meia Tigel)
Dir: Otavio Chamorro / 2015 / 24.58 min / Narrative Short / Brazil
Jonas John is willing to do anything to seduce the popular guy – even using magic from a cursed book! The love potion will solve two problems at once: he will get along with the cool guy and get rid of the girl who torments his life. But will the spell work?
8. PAPER AND JEANS (Original Title: Sobre Papéis)
Dir: Pedro Paulo de Andrade / 2014 / 22 min / Narrative Short / Brazil
29 year-old Victor dives into his high school years in order to write a letter with an important message to his teenage self.
9. SUBMARINE
Dir: Rafael Aidar / 2015 / 20 min / Narrative Short / Brazil
Two years after his partner’s death, Olavo lives an isolated life at 85 years of age. In the solitude of his grief, he ventures into the online world, submerging into a great fantasy between the internet’s public and private spaces.
10. THE QUIETNESS (Original Title: Calmaria)
Dir: William de Oliveira / 2015 / 9.56 min / Narrative Short / Brazil
The apparent peace of an ordinary day hides a turbulent past that insists on not being left behind.
11. YOU, ME AND HIM (Original Title: Café com Leite)
Dir: Daniel Ribeiro / 2007 / 18 min / Narrative Short / Brazil
Danilo was about to move out of his parent’s house to go live with his boyfriend, Marcos, when his mom and dad die unexpectedly in an accident. His plans for the future change and he becomes responsible for his 10 year-old brother, Lucas. While brothers Danilo and Lucas need to learn everything they didn’t know about each other, Marcos tries to find out if there is a place for him in his boyfriend’s new family arrangement.
