Paulo da Portela: O Teu Nome não Caiu no Esquecimento

An intimate look at the life and career of Paulinho da Costa, the most recorded percussionist in music history. The documentary explores his unique rhythmic language and his collaboration with legendary icons.

A record of the career and immense contribution of journalist and writer Mario Filho to the development of football in Brazil. Through a poetic and innovative approach, his columns captured the collective passion for the "British sport."

Documentary about João Nogueira, popular singer and composer from Rio de Janeiro

This film shines a light at the story of Jards Macalé, polemic artist and controversial character of Brazilian culture over the last four decades. Author of songs such as "Vapor Barato" and "Movimento dos Barcos", a partner in crime of poet Waly Salomão, guitar player and songwriter for Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso, actor and author of soundtracks in Nelson Pereira dos Santos' films, a personal friend of visual artists Lygia Clarke and Hélio Oiticica, but, first and foremost, someone who dreams of seeing the word "love" in the Brazilian flag.

Amid the dunes and landscapes of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, singer and composer Orlando Morais remembers his trajectory, while receiving international and Brazilian artists, such as Caetano Veloso and Huong Thanh, and mixing different musical genres.

A film about the universe of Clementina de Jesus, singer revealed at the age of 63 as one of the greatest voices in the history of Samba.

A documentary on the influence that carnival has on the daily life of the Mangueira hill in Rio de Janeiro. It follows the manufacture of the carnivals of 1981 and 1982, interviewing several residents who tell the story of more than half a century of the favela's existence and emphasizing its community importance and cultural, to the sound of the most beautiful sambas composed on Mangueira.

Evandro Teixeira is one of the leading names in world photojournalism, with a career spanning more than 37 years in the Brazilian press. Baiano from Jequié, chose Rio de Janeiro to settle down and it was in Jornal do Brasil that he spent most of his career. In addition to an untiring photographic reporter, he also traveled to Brazil to search for images of Brazilians and recorded important events in the history of Brazil and the world, in coverage of national and international events.

This biopic documents the life and work of one of Brazil’s most prolific artists: Milton Gonçalves. This actor and director are credited with more than sixty television titles, seventy movies and twenty plays. Known from classic full-length features like Macunaíma, They Don't Wear Black Tie and Kiss of the Spider Woman, his dramatic versatility also encompasses major Brazilian soap operas, including O Bem Amado and Roque Santeiro. With his talent, he overcame barriers faced by many Black performers in Brazil. An active on-screen and on-stage presence since the 1950s, his name is synonymous with the history of Brazilian television, theatre and cinema, making him a landmark talent in the performing arts world.

The documentary will reveal parallel narratives that present the life of the cartoonist and activist, Henrique de Souza. The film explores a movement of discovery of the character next to the young people from a class of animators who tries to bring the work of Henfil to the present days. In addition to the findings from friends' testimonies, revelations about how the artist used his drawings as a device to "dribble" political censorship and also as a resource for dealing with his fragile health, caused by hemophilia, and expose your creative restlessness.

Even with all the brutality in the Brazilian dictatorial period, many artists presented themselves as a resistance, using their talent and creativity as a way to trick the censorship.

A film that depicts the everyday life and the beauty of Portela’s Old Folk – a group of veteran samba musicians who belong to one of Rio’s most revered samba schools, the one with the most first places and accolades in Rio’s Carnaval pageant. These old gentelmen’s and ladies’ musicality and poetry are unveiled through their simple, but rich and meaningful, every day life in Oswaldo Cruz, a quaint neighborhood in Rio’s North Zone, that serves both as set and as a main character in this story.

In a time of timeless and revolutionary talents, Wilson Simonal shined as nobody before and innovated as only a few could. All of a sudden, everything vanished. This film maps the spectacular trajectory of the ex-Army corporal that ruled as a monarch, and was condemned to ostracism for an offense to which he pleaded not guilty.

Documentary about Marcel Camus' 1959 film Black Orpheus, its cultural and musical roots, and its resonance in Brazil today.

Samba on Your Feet explores the shared roots of Carnival and Samba in Brazil and how they’ve come together to form a unique and vibrant culture. The journey begins behind the scenes of Rio de Janeiro’s Samba schools. Here, we witness the hard work and dedication of choreographers, dancers, musicians, and costume makers coming together in the spirit of teamwork and collaboration to create a spectacle that celebrates the infectious rhythms of Samba. The camera of Montes-Bradley also explores nearby favelas, where the audience discovers more links between Carnival and Samba and learns about the cultural history linking both to common African traditions. Cultural historian Haroldo Costa is our host on this pilgrimage to the roots, illuminating the importance of Samba in Brazilian culture and explaining its influences on Carnival.

The life of a famous Brazilian film and television actor, including testimonials from people who knew him and worked with him, as well as excerpts from films and videos in which he acted.

Biographical portrait of samba dancer Nelson Sargento in Morro da Mangueira, Rio de Janeiro.

This documentary investigates the aesthetic, political and existential trajectory of emblematic Black Brazilian actor Antônio Pitanga. His career spans over five decades, and he has worked with iconic Brazilian filmmakers Glauber Rocha, Cacá Diegues and Walter Lima Jr. He was a prominent figurehead and outspoken activist during the Brazilian dictatorship, a period of unrest in Brazilian cinema. "Pitanga" deep dives into the world of Antônio and the history of Brazil. The documentary was directed by his daughter Camila Pitanga, one of widely recognised faces in Brazilian television and cinema right now. The film is also a poem, and a tender ode to fatherhood.

A documentary about the celebration of the National Samba Day with the aim of preserving the memory of part of the history of samba, which was being forgotten by the press and the Brazilian people.

Documentary about Brazilian samba songwriter and singer Paulinho da Viola, one of the most sophisticated musicians of the genre. The film shows his biography, influences, masters and friends, as well his simple and peculiar way of life, with activities like restoring old cars, working with wood, playing billiards.

Stories of love and longing based on the testimonies of five widows of great strongholds of Rio samba who, in an invisible work, became guardians of a fundamental part of Brazilian musical history.

A documentary on the career of Beth Carvalho, the Brazilian singer who became a well known samba legend from the 1970s onwards, edited together from hundreds of hours of footage and audio files kept (and partially recorded) by Carvalho herself during her lifetime.

Orphaned by father and mother, Clara has always dreamed of building a singing career. At the age of 16, she moved to Belo Horizonte, where she won the ABC Golden Voice contest. In 1966, she recorded her first vinyl: A Adorable Voice by Clara Nunes. The approach to samba made her achieve the longed for success, in addition to international repercussion. Clara Nunes revolutionized the music industry, becoming the first woman to break the barriers imposed by the record label.

Marcelo leaves his family and moves to Mato Grosso do Sul, where he learns how to fly airplanes by himself watching the pilots. One day, he responds the call of a drug dealer and uses his boss' plane to help the man to transport his cargo. He is hired by the drug lord to work transporting drugs in his airplanes. When he is arrested by the Federal Police, he does not rat his gang and the leader of the cartel gives a large amount of money as a bonus and asks him to leave the gang since he is known by the police. Marcelo uses the money to promote a party in the Carnival of Recife pretending to be the son of the owner of the Gol (a Brazilian air flight company). He lures the high-society, including the television presenter Amaury Jr. Marcelo is arrested again and is sent to prison. During a rebellion, he uses his leadership to present the claims of the prisoners and help to control the situation.

A woman is taken along with her mother in 1910 to a far-away desert by her husband, and after his passing, is forced to spend the next 59 years of her life hopelessly trying to escape it.

In a small city of Brazil, Flor (a very good looking woman) marries Vadinho, a very handsome and erotic man. Once married she finds he is a good-for-nothing. She works teaching cooking to her neighbours but he takes all her money to gamble. One day he dies. Flor misses the goods of the marriage so she marries again with a very correct gentleman – the owner of the drugstore (Teodoro). Now she’s very happy with her man, but misses the erotic moments with her previous husband. Then the ghost of Vadhino comes to earth to chase her.

Film in three segments. In the first, engaged girl falls in love with an acrobat. In the second, married woman is loved by two men. In the last, the daughter of a traditional family is rejected on her wedding night.

Biography of one of the legendary names in the Samba genre of Brazilian music. Although he could hardly dance or play an instrument, he became one of the main composers of Portela, an important Samba "school" in Rio de Janeiro.

A documentary on the gathering of samba composers and musicians on Zeca Pagodinho's country house.