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WASTE LAND

September 25, 2014

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de … Read more

RACA

March 5, 2014

Raca tackles racial inequality in Brazil, via the lives of three black Brazilians: Paulo Paim, the only black senator of the republic; Netinho Paula, singer and TV presenter, and Tiny dos Santos, Maroon activist and granddaughter of slaves. The filmmakers … Read more

ORFEU

January 16, 2014

Title: ORFEU Description: The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The story is enhanced by brilliant performances, thrilling music, and magnificent color photography. Type: Feature Film Year: 1999 Director: Carlos … Read more

JOGO DE CENA

January 15, 2014

Title: JOGO DE CENA (PLAYING) Description: In this film, ordinary Brazilian women who have responded to a newspaper ad tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho. In September of the same year, actresses interpret, in their own … Read more

SEIS HISTORIAS BRASILEIRAS

January 15, 2014

Title: 6 HISTORIAS BRASILEIRAS Description: ‘6 Brazilian Histories: Santa Cruz’ shows the development of an evangelical church in the Santa Cruz suburb of Rio de Janeiro Brazil and the transformations that the church has made in the lives its congregation. … Read more

DENYING BRAZIL

January 15, 2014

Title: DENYING BRAZIL Description: A documentary film about the taboos, stereotypes, and struggles of Black actors in Brazilian television “soaps.” Based on his own memories and on a sturdy body of research evidence, the director analyzes race relations in Brazilian … Read more

CUBA: AN AFRICAN ODYSSEY

January 15, 2014

Title: CUBA: AN AFRICAN ODYSSEY Description: Cuba : an African Odyssey is a documentary of Cuba’s central, yet little known, role in supporting African national liberation during the Cold War. This two-part DVD firsts deals mainly with Cuba’s involvement in … Read more

CRISE FINANCEIRA

January 15, 2014

Title: CRISE FINANCEIRA: O QUE PENSAM A JUVENTUDE BRASILEIRA E AS TRABALHADORAS DOMÉSTICAS…? Description: “Financial Crisis: Latin American Youth and Women Domestic Workers’ Views” interviews young people and domestic workers about the global financial crisis of 2008-present. Interviewees offer their … Read more

JOGO DE CENA

January 13, 2014

Title: JOGO DE CENA (PLAYING) Description: In this film, ordinary Brazilian women who have responded to a newspaper ad tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho. In September of the same year, actresses interpret, in their own … Read more

BABAS

January 13, 2014

Title: BABAS Description: This is a documentary about the history of wet nursing among Brazilian families. The film is a reflection on how it had developed over the years in different contexts throughout the twentieth century, from black slaves nursing … Read more

KEEPER OF PROMISES (O PAGADOR DE PROMESSAS)

October 26, 2011

Description: Zé is a very poor man from the Brazilian countryside. His most prized possession is his donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé makes a promise to Saint Bárbara: If his donkey recovers, he will carry a cross … Read more

CINDERELAS, LOBOS, E PRINCIPE ENCANTADO

October 26, 2011

Description: A documentary about the Brazilian sex trade, Cinderelas, Lobos, e Principe Encantado explores how poor Brazilian women, mostly black, are lured by middle-aged European men into traveling to Europe with them. European, American, or Canadian men feel that European, … Read more

AS AMÉRICAS TÊM COR / THE AMERICAS HAVE COLOR

July 27, 2011

  Description: “Different skin tones, individual and collective stories. This is the content of the documentary, ‘The Americas Have Color: Afro-Descendants in 21st-Century Censuses.’ This documentary reconstructs the African Diaspora’s ties to the Americas and reveals the censuses’ strategic role … Read more

SITUAÇÃO DAS MULHERES AFRODESCEDENTES NA AMÉRICA LATINA, A

July 27, 2011

  Description: “The Situation of Afro-descendant Women in Latin America” examines the correlation between race and poverty across the Americas with particular focus on the experiences of Latin American women. This UNIFEM-produced documentary features interviews with experts and activists from … Read more

TERRAS

July 27, 2011

  Description: Terras (“Lands”) is a documentary about the border of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, located in the heart of the Amazon. On this triple frontier the twin towns of Leticia (Colombia) and Tabatinga (Brazil) form an urban island surrounded … Read more

TRABALHO DOMESTICO, TRABALHO DECENTE

July 27, 2011

Description: "Domestic Work, Decent Work" portrays the reality of African descendants and indigenous women domestic workers in Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, and Paraguay in their quest for rights, respect, and dignity. The documentary highlights opportunities and challenges for these countries in … Read more

ABRIL DESPAÇADO (BEHIND THE SUN)

March 16, 2011

Description: The Brazilian badlands, April 1910. Tonho is ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother. The young man knows that if he commits this crime, his life will be divided in two: the 20 years … Read more

AUTO DA COMPADECIDA, O

March 16, 2011

Description: The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small Northeast Brazil town. But when they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the … Read more

BAILE PERFUMADO

March 16, 2011

 Description: The inhospitable backlands, or sertão, of northeastern Brazil was home to a fearsome group of social bandits – the cangaceiros. Among the most infamous of these outlaws, known by their hats covered with mystic talismans, was the bespectacled Lampião … Read more

BENEDITA DA SILVA

March 16, 2011

 Description: A profile of the first black woman ever to be elected city councilor and member of the Brazilian Parliament from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Bene, as she prefers to be called, has lived her entire life in … Read more

BISPO DO ROSARIO

March 16, 2011

Description: This docudrama about the life and art of the Brazilian artist Arthur Bispo do Rosário takes the artist’s imagination as its viewpoint. Bispo spent 50 years in a psychiatric hospital in Rio and his art was almost completely unknown … Read more

BYE BYE BRASIL

March 16, 2011

Description: A small-time traveling sideshow plays over 9,000 miles of backcountry Brazil, a mixture of primitivism and progress. One of the most original and entertaining films of recent years, it is an exotic, entertaining, exuberant, and often very moving film … Read more

CANUDOS: PAIXÃO E GUERRA NO SERTÃO DE CANUDOS

March 16, 2011

Description: Produced by Ricardo Gaspar and Selma Santos under the auspices of the University of Bahia and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, this video depicts the history of the 1897 massacre of thousands of followers of a millenarian movement in … Read more

CARANDIRU

March 16, 2011

Description: Based on the real life experiences of Doctor Drauzio Varella as a social worker inside the Carandiru state penitentiary in Sao Paulo, the largest correctional facility in Brazil. Hundreds of prisoners live in degrading conditions while an elite group … Read more

CARMEN MIRANDA: BANANAS IS MY BUSINESS

March 16, 2011

Description: This film relates the intimate saga of the star who captured the world’s heart and imagination. It reveals the lasting image of Latin American women she created and serves as a celebration of her glorious talents. Using active footage, … Read more

CASA GRANDE & SENZALA (MASTERS AND SLAVES) PARTS I-IV

March 16, 2011

Description: A discussion of the 1933 text Casa Grande & Senzala(Masters and Slaves) by Brazilian anthropologist and historian, Gilberto Freyre, this documentary consists of four 1-hour segments. The camera follows Prof. Edson Nery, friend and biographer of Freyre, on an … Read more

CENTRAL DO BRASIL

March 16, 2011

Description: One of Brazil’s most acclaimed films and winner of a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Inside Rio de Janeiro’s Central Station, two very unlikely souls are about to become inextricably linked. When a young boy witnesses his … Read more

CIDADE BAIXA (THE LOWER CITY)

March 16, 2011

Description: Deco and Naldinho are best friends in a constant struggle to earn an honest living in the gritty world of Salvador de Bahia’s Lower City. When a beautiful prostitute named Karina asks to hitch a ride, the twosome quickly … Read more

CIDADE DE DEUS (CITY OF GOD)

March 16, 2011

Description: In the midst of the streets of the world’s most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro’s “City of God,” a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings … Read more

CINE MAMBEMBE (CINEMA DISCOVERS BRAZIL)

March 16, 2011

Description: A pair of filmmakers journey to the interior of Brazil, screening short films to audiences in town squares. From Bahía to the Amazon, they discover a vast country going to the movies, seeing themselves on the big screen for … Read more

CINEMA, ASPIRINS AND VULTURES

March 16, 2011

Description: In 1942, Johann, a lonely German, travels through the Northeast of Brazil in his truck selling aspirins in small villages, using advertisement movies to promote the medicine. He meets and befriends a drifter but later must make a life … Read more

DEUS E O DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL

March 16, 2011

Description: This richly allegorical film, set amid bandits and prophets in arid Northeastern Brazil of the early twentieth century, is a classic work of cinema novo by one of Brazil’s premier directors, Gláuber Rocha. Copies: 1 (DVD) Length: 120 minutes

DONA FLOR E SEUS DOIS MARIDOS

March 16, 2011

Description: Funny, sexy, and intoxicating. A ribald folktale about a young widow, her respectable new husband, and her dynamic but dead first husband who refuses to stay buried, featuring the sensual Sonia Braga as Dona Flor. Copies: 2 (DVD and … Read more

EDGE WALKER: A CONVERSATION WITH LINDA SCHELE

March 16, 2011

Description: Documentary tribute to the late Linda Schele, among the leading scholars of Maya civilization, who in January 1998 gave a long, filmed interview in which she talks freely and frankly in her own inimitable style about her life, work, … Read more

ENTREATOS

March 16, 2011

Description: This film documents the 2002 presidential campaign of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvia for thirty days. The film is less focused on the public appearances of Lula and more on the behind the scenes action of the campaign team, … Read more

EU, TU, ELES

March 16, 2011

Description: Based on a true story, this film is set in the beautifully majestic landscape of rural Brazil. Darlene, a determined woman, abruptly uproots herself from her small town to find a man who can fulfill her desires. Three years … Read more

FAVELA RISING

March 16, 2011

Description: Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in … Read more

FILHAS DO VENTO

March 16, 2011

Description: Two sisters from the state of Minas Gerais are reunited after several years apart when their father dies and are forced to confront each other about the ill feelings generated by the hurts of the distant past. Copies: 1 … Read more

FOUR DAYS IN SEPTEMBER

March 16, 2011

Description: This thriller is based on the true-life events. In 1969, the MR-8 urban guerrillas kidnap the US Ambassador to Brazil (Alan Arkin) to demand the release of prisoners held by the military junta. The dictatorship’s secret police close in … Read more

FRONTEIRA, A (THE BORDER)

March 16, 2011

Description: The story of two Brazilian families who put everything at risk to cross the border into the United States from Mexico, in search of a better life. Having gotten over the first leg of their journey, they all confront … Read more

HORA DA ESTRELA, A

March 16, 2011

Description: In this film based on the book by Clarice Lispector, Macabea is a young woman from the countryside of northeast Brazil who lives in the sprawling city of Sao Paulo. The mixture of bitter reality and gentle, humorous fantasy … Read more

I WAS BORN A BLACK WOMAN (NASCI MULHER NEGRA)

March 16, 2011

Description: This film recounts the remarkable life of Benedita da Silva, the first Afro-Brazilian woman to be elected to Brazil’s senate. Her long history of struggle in the shantytowns, the women’s movement and the black movement created the base for … Read more

LUZIA

March 16, 2011

Description: Set on the vast and beautiful plains of central Brazil, LUZIA is a movie in the tradition of the American western. Luzia is a cowgirl caught in a clash between squatters and the powerful ranch owners. Her extraordinary rodeo … Read more

MANDA BALA

March 16, 2011

Description: An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm. Copies: 1 (DVD) Length: … Read more

MASSACRE DO CORUMBIARA, O

March 16, 2011

Description: "O Massacre de Corumbiara" advocates the need for radical agrarian reform in Brazil through an emotional examination of a massacre of peaceful, landless rural laborers by the military police in the Amazonian state of Rondônia in August 1995. It … Read more

MORO NO BRASIL

March 16, 2011

Description: This film is a musical road trip deep into the heart of Brazil. Along the trip, the director showcases the diversity and richness of the Brazilian Music. Copies: 1 (DVD) Length: 105 minutes

ODO YA! LIFE WITH AIDS

March 16, 2011

Description: A poetic documentary exploration of efforts by members of the Afro-Brazilian communities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador, Bahia, Brazil to combat the spread of AIDS by drawing from their own cultural and religious traditions. Copies: 1 … Read more

ONDA NO AR, UMA (SOMETHING IN THE AIR)

March 16, 2011

Description: This is a comedy drama that captures the joy and sadness of life in much of South America. It is based on the true story of four friends who decide to install a communal pirate radio station. Called Rádio … Read more

ORFEU NEGRO (BLACK ORPHEUS)

March 16, 2011

Description: The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The story is enhanced by brilliant performances, thrilling music, and magnificent color photography. Copies: 2(DVD) Length: 107 minutes

PEÕES

March 16, 2011

Description: Workers from the industrial ABC region of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo are interviewed twenty-three years after their strike led by Luis Inácio "Lula" da Silva. In 1979 Brazil lived under a dictatorship and the members of the … Read more

PIXOTE

March 16, 2011

Description: Ten-year-old Pixote (Portuguese slang for “Peewee”) is one of three million homeless children in Brazil. Hauled off to a crowded detention center, wide-eyed Pixote witnesses rapes, beatings and other acts of random violence by both the guards and the … Read more

QUANDO O CRIOULO DANÇA

March 16, 2011

Description: This film by a young Brazilian woman deals with racism as it impacts and is expressed through the daily lives of black Brazilians. It demystifies the idea that Brazilian society is without racial prejudices. Bronze medal winner at the … Read more

QUILOMBO

March 16, 2011

Description: A handsome tale of revolution and conflict, set in the mid-1600s. Disgruntled slaves in northeastern Brazil leave their plantations and form Quilombo de Palmares-their own democratic nation in the jungle. This doesn’t sit well with the Portuguese landowners, who … Read more

QUILOMBOS DE BAHIA

March 16, 2011

Description: Fantastic documentary about black communities in the State of Bahia. The Brazilian concept of Quilombos has come to mean the communities that were constituted out of the struggle of rebel slaves during the centuries of slavery, as territories of … Read more

REGINA VATER: SIX VIDEOS ON BRAZIL

March 16, 2011

Description: This video contains six segments in Portuguese with no subtitles. "Turning Sadness Inside Out" (1985, 18 minutes) is about Rio’s Carnival. It is basically a musical where the lyrics somehow cements the images. "From Brazil by Brazilians" (1993, 20 … Read more

ROMANCE DA EMPREGADA (THE STORY OF FAUSTA)

March 16, 2011

Description: Betty Faria stars as Fausta, a quirky cleaning lady whose sexy swinging hips open the door to a more comfortable life. When an old widower breaks the ice and buys Fausta perfume and a drink, she sees a way … Read more

SATORI USO

March 16, 2011

Description: A poet from the shadows, a filmmaker with no films and an enigmatic muse. Inspired by the work of Brazilian writer and poet Rodrigo Garcia Lopes, it is a sort of “false documentary” about the poet’s time in the … Read more

SAVAGE CAPITALISM

March 16, 2011

Description: This blockbuster Brazilian feature uses soap-opera melodrama to tell the story of a beautiful romance between a reporter and a mining company executive. But the romance crumbles when the executive’s wife, long presumed dead, returns and drives the couple, … Read more

SEAMS

March 16, 2011

Description: Directed by Karim Ainouz, a young Brazilian American filmmaker, who traveled back to his home in Brazil to interview on film his five delightfully eccentric unmarried or widowed aunts on their views of love, family and marriage. These women … Read more

SERTAO DAS MEMORIAS, O

March 16, 2011

Description: This film tells the story of two Sertanejos, the inhabitants of Sertão. Maria is the female reincarnation of Jesus, representing the strength of the Sartanejo women. She invites the Beatas (holy women) on a mission of prayer for which … Read more

SHOESHINE PRESIDENT, THE (O PRESIDENTE ENGRAXATE)

March 16, 2011

Description: Shot in streets of Sao Paulo, THE SHOESHINE PRESIDENT asks Brazilians what they think about their new president, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva. From the heart of the celebrations, this film captures the heady atmosphere of history in the … Read more

THE SOUND OF RIO: BRASILEIRINHO

March 16, 2011

Description: A musical documentary about choro, the first genuinely urban Brazilian music, which blended European, Afro-Brazilian and indigenous elements and formed the basis for popular musical styles such as Samba and Bossa Nova. Copies: 1 (DVD) Length: 90 minutes

TEMPTATIONS OF BROTHER SEBASTIAN, THE

March 16, 2011

Description: The story of a Brazilian monk’s quest to be ordained as a priest against a backdrop of personal crises, war, and social collapse. Brother Sebastian confronts numerous obstacles, including his guilt at being raped as a child, his attraction … Read more

TERRA EM TRANSE

March 16, 2011

Description: One of the great art films of the Brazilian Cinema Novo, director Rocha’s 1967 work is a meditation on the ambiguities of political power, revolutionary ideologies, and the transformative potential of art. It is a satirical film, based on … Read more

TIETA DE AGRESTE

March 16, 2011

Description: A story about a young girl, Tieta thrown out of her house for sexual indiscretions, only to return 26 years later triumphantly as the rich and powerful widow of an industrialist. Tieta and Leonora, whom she introduces as her … Read more

TREM PARA AS ESTRELAS, UM

March 16, 2011

Description: A young musician from the poor suburbs of Rio searches for his lost love. From Guadalupe to the cosmopolitan south zone, Vinicius embarks on an almost mythic urban odyssey. Vinicius’ journey, both tragic and comic leads ultimately to redemption. … Read more

VERA (1987)

March 16, 2011

Description: After having spent part of her life in an orphanage/reform school (where she learned that this is a man’s world), Vera attempts assimilation into polite Brazilian society. However, by the time she leaves the orphanage she is convinced that … Read more

VIDAS SECAS

March 16, 2011

Description: This film takes place in the years 1940 to 1942, between the two great droughts that devastated the Brazilian Nordeste (Northeast). The movie, based on a novel by Graciliano Ramos, is a meditation about the agrarian question and the … Read more

XICA

March 16, 2011

Description: A diamond rush in the 1700s transformed Brazil’s interior into a place of fabulous wealth and excess. In this unrestrained atmosphere, the slave Xica uses her iron will and her unique sexual talent to seduce her way into becoming … Read more