Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival, a Festival dedicated to bringing independent vision and voices from Brazil to Los Angeles audiences, along with artistic director Sandro Fiorin, are proud to present a diverse selection of new independent films from Brazil. All films are Los Angeles premieres, 10 features, including numerous co-productions (out of which 6 debut features are in competition for the Jury Prize) and 10 shorts will screen from Wednesday, June 1 though Saturday June 4. This year’s selection represents the newest crop of filmmaking flourishing in Brazil. Many of the films presented have screened at international film festivals, winning awards and receiving critical acclaim. The filmmakers that are profiled in this festival come from the North and South of Brazil, as well as from abroad (as is evident in numerous selections that are co-productions). Besides Portuguese – English, Spanish, French, Danish, and Hindi are spoken in the films.
The festival is made possible with generous support by LG Brazil. All screenings are FREE and open to the public, besides Opening and Closing night films. Attendance for Opening and Closing night films is by invitation only. Members of the press must RSVP to SashaBerman@mac.com to attend those screenings.
Films with (* next to the title, are films in competition)
Wednesday, June 1 at 7:00pm at the Egyptian Theatre:
* RISCADO (Craft) – OPENING NIGHT Film
Brazil 2010, 85’, HD/16mm
West Coast Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/figafilms#p/a/u/1/KTByxrQJubs
Director Gustavo Pizzi and Lead-Actress Karine Teles in attendance.
A short film, *RECIFE FRIO, 24’ will screen with the feature With the expressiveness of a golden-age Hollywood star, Karine Teles (Winner, Best Actress Award at 2010 Rio Int’l Film Festival) gives a tour-de-force performance as a talented actress who struggles through life with small, humiliating jobs to make ends meet, until she gets what may be her big break. Director Gustavo Pizzi, who co-wrote the script with Teles (his real-life wife), portrays the cruelty of the competitive world in which we live, and heightens the drama not by resorting to exaggerated scenarios, but by picking the perfect protagonist: an actress. Acting from deep within, Teles beautifully portrays the life of someone who must contain her constant fear of time’s passing, her insecurity that a mastery of her own craft may not be enough, and the gnawing feeling that each day of auditions and casting calls becomes another day lost in the struggle for success.
Thursday, June 2 at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater
5 pm – Conversation with filmmakers, scholars, critics, and the audience – at Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.
7 pm – *A FUGA DA MULHER GORILA (The Escape of the Gorilla Woman)
Brazil 2009, 82’, HD; part 1 of a trilogy
North American Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaZcquyLPWY
Co-director Felipe Bragança in attendance
A short film, *A DISTRAÇÃO DE IVAN (Ivan’s Distraction) 17’ will screen with the feature
Winner – Best Film at the 2009 Tiradentes Film Festival (in Brazil), this musical road movie tells the story of two sisters (played by Flora Dias and Morena Catonni) who decide to embark on a journey through the state of Rio de Janeiro in an old kombi van. Along the way, they offer a lift to an actor (Alberto Moura Jr) who also wants to visit the state, and together the trio decides to organize a spectacular show in which one of them transforms into a gorilla and threatens the audience.
Directors: Felipe Bragança and Marina Meliande
9 pm – A ALEGRIA (The Joy)
Brazil 2010, 100’, 35mm – part 2 of a trilogy
Los Angeles Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9YJCcYi2mQ
Co-director Felipe Bragança in attendance
An animated short film, *O DIVINO, DE REPENTE 6’ will screen with the feature
Selected for 2010 Cannes – Directors’ Fortnight, and screened at Brasilia, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Toulouse, and Prague film festivals, THE JOY is a fairy tale about youth and courage. THE JOY tells the story of 16-year-old Luiza, who is tired of hearing about the end of the world. On Christmas Eve, her cousin João disappears in the middle of the night and is shot in a poor neighborhood. A few weeks later, while alone in her apartment in Rio de Janeiro, Luiza finds a mysterious guest waiting for her in the living room: João, as a ghost, asking her to be hidden.
Directed by Felipe Braganca and Marina Meliande
Friday, June 3 at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater 
5 pm – DESASSOSSEGO (Neverquiet)
Brazil 2011, 63’, HD – part 3 of a trilogy
North America Premiere
Co-director Felipe Bragança in attendance
Having screened at Rotterdam Film Festival, the project was an initiative of the directing duo Felipe Bragança and Marina Meliande, who sent a ‘letter of concern’ to inspire the participants. In it, a 16-year-old girl wrote about her dreams, which have been translated by the directors into films about love, youth and the possibilities of cinema. The final result is a frenzied crossover of styles filmed in Super-8, VHS, HD and mini-DV. NEVERQUIET is the final part of the trilogy Hearts on Fire by Bragança and Meliande. For the first time, all three parts (including The Escape of the Gorilla Woman and The Joy), can be seen at one event – at this year’s Festival.
Directors: Felipe Bragança, Marina Meliande, Karim Aïnouz, Ivo Lopes Araujo, Gustavo Bragança, Helvécio Marins Jr., Clarissa Campolina, Caetano Gotardo Soares, Raphael Mesquita, Leonardo Levis, Carolina Durão, Andrea Capella, Marco Dutra & Juliana Rojas.
Followed by:
CHANTAL AKERMAN DE CÁ (Chantal Akerman from Here)
Brazil/Belgium 2010, 61’, HD- in English & French
North America Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B6vz8vODtw
Selected for 2010 Viennale, this documentary features an uncut interview with the prestigious Belgian director. We hear Akerman’s reflections on her own work and method – especially Hotel Monterey (1972) and Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), as well as the influence of directors such as Jonas Mekas and Michael Snow, her relation with Proust’s novel (which she adapted in La Captive in 2000), and her failed attempt to venture into a more commercial filmmaking; all that in 60 minutes.
Directors: Gustavo Beck & Leonardo Luiz Ferreira
7:30 pm – * ESTRADA PARA YTHACA (Road to Ythaca)
Brazil 2010, 70’, HD
North America Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNT2Eahz-Ys
Co-director Guto Parente in attendance
A short film, * FANTASMAS (Ghosts) 11’ will screen with the feature.
Winner, Best Film at 2010 Tiradentes Film Festival (Brazil), this road movie focuses on four friends –played by the four directors– who have recently lost a friend. After a night of heavy drinking, they decide to travel to the mythical Ythaca. They don’t seem to be looking for a real place, but rather for something that has been with them since the beginning of the film, the sprit of friendship.
Directed, Written, Edited, Photographed, and Produced by Guto Parente, Luiz Pretti, Pedro Diógenes, Ricardo Pretti
With: Guto Parente, Luiz Pretti, Pedro Diógenes, Ricardo Pretti
9 pm – * POR EL CAMINO (Beyond the Road)
Brazil/Uruguay 2010, 85’, 35mm – in Spanish, English, French
North American Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYo0WhtpwVs
Director Charly Braun in attendance
A short film, *CONTAGEM,18’ will screen with the feature
Winner, Best Director award at 2010 Rio Int’l Film Festival, and official selection at Sao Paulo, Seattle and Jerusalem film festivals, BEYOND THE ROAD tells a story of Santiago, a 30 year old Argentinean, who travels to Uruguay in search of a piece of land that he inherited from his parents who were tragically killed in an accident a few years earlier. On his arrival in Montevideo, by chance he meets Juliette, a young Belgian who came to Uruguay in search of an old love. He offers her a ride, and on the way they realize that they are developing feelings for each other. When they arrive in Punta del Este, however, Santiago’s universe stands between them.
Saturday, June 4 at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater
5 pm – REFLEXÕES DE UM LIQUIDIFICADOR (Reflections of a Blender)
Brazil 2010, 82’, HD
Los Angeles Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csncRwhoLW4
Director: André Klotzel
A short film, *AVÓS (Grandmothers) 12’ will screen with the feature
This hilarious dark comedy (2011 Newport Beach Film Festival) examines a different kind of relationship- one between a woman and her talking blender. Elvira is in search of her missing husband and finds comfort and guidance in her appliance. The blender narrates the story, weaving between the current investigation and stories of Elvira with her husband told in flashbacks. Suddenly they work together to solve the case and find out what really happened to her husband.
7 pm – * BOLLYWOOD DREAM
Brazil/India/USA 2011, 90’, HD – in Portuguese, Hindi, English
West Coast Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cT57ftEZ3g
Director/Writer Beatriz Seigner in attendance
A short film, *HANDEBOL 19’ will screen with the feature
BOLLYWOOD DREAM was a hit at Sao Paulo, Chicago and Amérasia film festivals. Three Brazilian women who are hoping to make it in Bollywood are in for a rude awakening when their producer doesn’t meet them and their hotel reservations are missing, upon their arrival in India. Forced to fend for themselves, they find a teenage promoter whose lying and choreography skills give them the chance they were hoping for. The debut fictional feature from actress and writer Beatriz Seigner is a funny and moving story of culture clash and the power of music.
9 pm – * ROSA MORENA – CLOSING NIGHT film
Brazil/Denmark 2010, 86’, 35mm – in Portuguese, Danish, English
Los Angeles Premiere
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrOYkwEBjA0
Producer Ivan Teixeira in attendance
A short film, *BAILAÕ (The Ball) 17’ will screen with the feature
Winner – Best Film at 2010 Sao Paulo Int’l Film Festival;
In his forties, Thomas desperately wants to be a father. But as a single gay man in Denmark, he cannot legally adopt a child. So, he decides to visit an old friend in Brazil, where there is a thriving black market for adoption. Maria is beautiful, charming and pregnant, yet she is too poor to support her unborn child. The plan is simple: Thomas will pay Maria and bring her baby back to Denmark as his own. However, things get unhinged when Thomas becomes emotionally involved with the enchanting Maria. Touching on a myriad of social issues, director Carlos Augusto de Oliveira’s ROSA MORENA is also a story of affection. Provocative, entertaining and poignant, it resonates through the heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of two people trying to do the right thing for the child they both love.
Director: Carlos Augusto de Oliveira
For additional details about the program, please check: www.hbrfest.com