Palavra (En)Cantada

Considers the condition of women in continental America. Shows how women in countries such as Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela are objecting to their traditional roles as wives and mothers and are striving for more control over their lives.

Sixty-six adolescents, residents of Favela da Maré, were selected to participate in a dance show led by the choreographer Ivaldo Bertazzo, which incorporated their own daily experiences. Ten years later, directors David Meyer and Helena Soldberg search for some of the participants of this experience.

A biography of the Portuguese-born Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda, whose most distinctive feature was her tutti-frutti hat. From her arrival in the US as the "Brazilian Bombshell" to her Broadway career and Hollywood stardom in the 1940s.

The day-to-day life of a young girl in the town of Diamantina, Brazil, on the end of 19th Century, based on real life diaries.

On screen, a bride gets ready for her wedding day. Off screen, middle-class young women from Rio de Janeiro share their experiences and impressions concerning virginity, marriage, sex and politics.

A group of school students sets up a rebellion that threatens to kill their teacher.

In this film Indians—and only Indians—talk about the contemporary threats they are facing today. They are no longer the Conquerors or the American Cavalry. Now it is industrial development that is wiping out traditional land. Shot on three continents: the USA with the Hopi and Navajo; Amazonia, and on the Bolivian highlands, and in Geneva where Indians of the Americas come together to create an international indigenous network.

Based on interviews with 15 women, including directors, producers and film actresses, a journey around the world is made, seeing the wars waged by each one against economic and political repression, bombs, police dogs, censors, etc. Images from England, New York, Brazil, South Africa.

In this documentary portrait of post-revolutionary Nicaragua, director Helena Solberg follows the Chavarría family while examining the broader social and political changes following the 1979 overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship. Interweaving personal testimony with archival footage of U.S. intervention, revolutionary struggle, and national reform efforts, the film reflects on the hopes and tensions shaping the country’s future.

‘How are women doing in Brazil?’. It is this intriguing question, posed by an Italian journalist, that Helena Solberg tries to answer through elements of her films, from the 1960s to the present day. Along the way, encounters with figures such as Heloisa Teixeira, Rita von Hunty and Helena Vieira illuminate some of the cracks in this broad debate.

Using archival photographs, historical footage, and illustrations, this documentary traces the evolution of the feminist movement in the United States from the eighteenth century to the rise of modern women’s liberation.

Talking about abortion in Brazil is still taboo, however, in recent years, protesters have protested against criminalization laws and highlighted the need to debate the subject.

Directed by Helena Solberg, this documentary centers on three teenage girls living in a Bolivian reformatory after experiences of sexual violence and exploitation. Through their stories, the film contrasts their circumstances with prevailing social expectations and representations of women.

In 1969, Fernando Gabeira was among terrorists who kidnapped Charles Burke Elbrick, then the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. Eventually Gabeira was captured and tortured before being exiled from his homeland for eight years. He talks candidly about his experiences in captivity as well as the abduction and the motivation behind choosing Elbrick.