From the cadence of samba to the rhythms of the city streets and favela slopes, from introspective meditations to the portrayals of social struggles, Documenta Brazil 2008 - Rhythms of Brasilidade, a six-day film festival which sounds the beat of this dynamic, multi-faceted country, opens at New York Universitys King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center on Thursday, November 13. This documentary series showcases a new generation of filmmakers who are changing Brazilian cinema with their cinematographic sophistication and their rigorous questioning of the nature of authorial responsibility.
The Center is located at 53 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Sts.). Curated by Micaela Kramer and Fernando Pérez, with a selection of shorts curated by Moara Rossetto, the festival is free and open to the public. The festival also features a roundtable, live music, and Q&A sessions with directors. For more information and a list of specific film screenings, visit www.nyu.edu/kjc/documentabrazil.
The series opens on November 13, at 6:15 p.m. with the film Brasileirinho (Mika Kaurismaki, 2005, 90 mins.), a breathtaking portrait of the musical genre Choro, sometimes referred to as Brazilian jazz. It will be followed by a live concert by choro quartet, Ging do Mané.
A roundtable, Rhythms of the Documentary in Brazil: The Last 20 Years, on Friday, November 14, at 5:45 p.m., will feature Brazilian filmmakers João Moreira Salles and Sandra Kogut examining the development of the documentary genre in Brazil since the 1990s.
Closing the festival on Tuesday, November 18, at 6:15 p.m. will be José Miguel Wisnik, one of Brazils foremost critics and intellectiuals, speaking on the interaction among music, national identity, and social phenomena in Brazil across popular, high, and mass culture.