Phono 73: A Country and its Music

Documentary about samba musician from Bahia Clementino Rodrigues, aka Riachão.

Tropicália was a Brazilian cultural movement that occurred between 1967 and 1968, inspired by Oswald de Andrade's anthropophagic ideals, pop art and the concretism. Twenty years later, this film revisits the movement and shows that Tropicalismo will never die.

The fictional encounter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (in the 30s) between popular songwriter Lamartine Babo and inconoclast poet and playwright Oswald de Andrade.

During Rio's Carnival, a street cleaner struggles with the loss of his sister and his work obligations. Amid the celebrations, he finds a lost child and sets out to help him.

The lives of Luhli and Lucina, two especially important artists in the alternative cultural scene during the 1970s. In a time when transgression, love and peace guided behavior, we discover the love of two women for art, their spiritual universe, their lives in community and their three-way relationship with photographer Luiz Fernando Borges da Fonseca.

In 1976, Gilberto Gil traveled to Lagos (Nigeria) with the purpose of participating in the Second Festival of Black Art and Culture. The event had the participation of approximately fifty thousand Afro-descendant and Diaspora artists. After the trip, Gil released the album Refavela. The documentary celebrates the 40th anniversary of this album essential album for the Brazilian Popular Music.

Mulher 80 emerged as a result of the success of 'Malu Mulher' (1979), a miniseries starring Regina Duarte, which addressed the female situation in Brazilian society at that time. The main focus of the special was the female presence in music, honouring the singers and songwriters of MPB with musical numbers and testimonials.

It explores Rita Lee's personal life and her creative process, revealing her musical talent and her ability to transform on stage. Rita herself guides the narrative through past interviews she gave throughout her career and current testimonies.

Set against the turbulent atmosphere of the 1960s, Tropicália is a feature length documentary exploring the Brazilian artistic movement known as Tropicália, and the struggle its artists endured to protect their right to freely express revolutionary thought against the traditional Brazilian music of that time.

"Estratosférica ao Vivo" is not just the record of a Gal Costa show. It is the portrait of the artist reaching the 70 years of life, 50 of them dedicated to music. The show "Estratosférica" ​​crowns the new artistic phase of Gal, more and more interested in connecting several tips of the history of the music of Brazil, joining the composers of its generation to names of the new national scene. The script, created by Marcus Black, was very good at this idea. Sewing songs by Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé, Luiz Melodia, Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão, Carlos Pinto and Torquato Neto, Roberto and Erasmo Carlos - a series of tropicalist and post-tropicalist works that until now serve as reference and feed the new generations of music.

Recorded in 1973, this TV show brings Elis Regina in an 'ensaio' (improvisation). The programme aired by TV Cultura rescues the living memory of the greatest MPB star through her testimonials on composers and performers. The images are black and white and with camera close-ups, it denounces the restless, strong-willed hands of Elis.

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

The documentary narrates the life of Toquinho, one of the greatest Brazilian artists, a musician who transcends the barriers of time and language with his sensitivity. A story that shapes Brazilian popular music.

In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

On a Saturday, unhappy with her marriage, Carol gets ready to leave, her husband usually goes to a soccer match and bring his friends back home for lunch. The dish of the day is feijoada. This film is an adaptation of the short story "Feijoada Completa" by Luis Fernando Verissimo, in turn inspired by the homonymous Chico Buarque' song.

Gal Costa is the greatest singer in Brazil. From João Gilberto in Bahia to Tropicália and the memories of more than 50 years of career, what remains is the trance of his voice and enchantment on show stage.

A three-part anthology about love and sexuality: a menage-a-trois between a couple and a young woman on the coast of Tuscany; an advertising executive under enormous pressure at work, who, during visits to his psychiatrist, is pulled to delve into the possible reasons why his stress seems to manifest itself in a recurring erotic dream; a story of unrequited love about a beautiful, 1960s high-end call girl in an impossible affair with her young tailor.

The art of Arrigo Barnabé, one of the pillars of the São Paulo experimental music scene during the 80's and author of critically acclaimed albums such as "Clara Crocodilo" (1980) and "Tubarões Voadores" (1984).

Discover the history of the Chic Show ball, an iconic black music party in São Paulo. The event was a milestone in the life of São Paulo. Held in halls across the city in the 1970s and 1980s, the show became a meeting point for black culture and opened up space for funk, soul, rap and pagode, among other rhythms. The party welcomed names such as Tim Maia, Sandra de Sá, Gilberto Gil, Djavan, Bebeto and Carlos Dafé, as well as international artists such as Kurtis Blow, Betty Wright and James Brown.

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.

"Dia Voa" is a documentary that follows Chico Buarque during the recording of his album, capturing exclusive interviews and unseen footage. It was his first album integrated into digital platforms during the promotional process. In just over an hour, the film showcases the conception and production of the album—from Chico’s return to songwriting after a period dedicated to literature (during which he released Leite Derramado, winner of the 2010 Jabuti Award for Best Fiction Book) to the final product.

A view of Brazil's 2018 Presidential Elections, held in October of that year. The polarizing Election led to the rise of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro

The third episode of the Cities of Love franchise, Rio, I Love You is an anthology, created by 10 visionary directors from across the globe. The story line of each segment focuses on an encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city, demonstrating the distinctive qualities and character of that location. The film serves to bridge gaps between cultures, educating and entertaining the audience, while celebrating unique and universal expressions of love.

Fifteen year ago, Carlos went to the cinema to meet Júlia, his university colleague with whom he was in love. She never showed up. Carlos was left waiting in the lobby alone. While he waits, something happens which will change his life. A scene, an encounter, an unfinished sentence... Something insignificant, but which will determine the character's life. Fifteen years later, we follow three completely different versions of Carlos's life. In one, he is a man divided between the stability of a secure life in a lukewarm marriage, and the growing desire to live a great love affair. In the second, he is homosexual and places passion above all else. In the third possible life, Carlos is a man who hasn't yet discovered love, and lives through successive disastrous relationships in search of the perfect woman. One of them is his real life. Another is not his life. And a third is the life he'd like to lead. Which is his true life ?

São Paulo, 1983: Women’s soccer has just been legalized in Brazil. A group of rebellious young women form the Gayvotas Football Club and begin training for their first match. But as the team quickly becomes a media sensation, its members are forced to confront the prejudices of the conservative military dictatorship that they live under.

A colorful feature film that mixes exile with the figure of the poet Rimbaud and the feminist revolution. "It's super-intellectual. A fable-musical-philosophical-chanchada", Mautner says. He also affirms that the work focuses a lot on the longing for Brazil, on the will that the exiled had to return to their homeland. The idea came from conversations between the musician and his old father, "always talking about the pre-Socratics", he recalls. Glauber Rocha states that "The Demiurge" is the best film "of" and "about" exile.

ABC of a Strike captures the 1979 metal workers strikes outside of São Paulo. The footage sat untouched until after the death of highly-regarded director Leon Hirszman in 1987, by which time the material had a new relevance. The gripping film captures the negotiations between the labor unions and the factory bosses and shows the birth of the region’s Worker’s Party, as well as the emergence of its charismatic leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Rising from extreme poverty, Lula gained national prominence as a union activist during the late 70s and early 80s. After being jailed during his time as a union leader, he eventually becomes Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010.