Rise

In the social landscape of Brega, music videos are the catalyst of an appetite for success as encouraged by capitalism. 'You are seeing things' looks at this world where self-regulation and image management play a crucial role in the construction of voice, status and identity of a whole new generation of popular artists.

Brazil. Historically Pernambuco state in the country’s northeast was characterised agriculturally by the sugarcane industry. Today there is a new sector in the economy: various evangelical Christian groups are on the rise. The mantra of the evangelicals, who have gained an ever-increasing influence in Brazilian society over the past years, is the attainment of improvements in one’s personal and economic situations through adherence to an extreme religious practice. In Brazil the evangelicals have established themselves as a growing political power over the past years. They control segments of the media and preach hate and intolerance towards homosexuality and other creeds. HOLY TREMOR focuses on a young generation of priests, producers and singers who hail from a rural area and make gospel music. Wagner and de Burca take into account the environment of the protagonists in order to make ethics, morality and life visible in an aesthetic agglomeration.

In the sports court of a school, dancers rehearse under the watchful eye of a choreographer. Tensions haunt personal desires as they are observed by a rival troupe.

Fala da Terra [Voice of the Land] develops around Coletivo Banzeiros, a theater group from Pará in the north of Brazil formed by members of the MST [Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra/ Landless Workers' Movement] engaged in forms of education and political militancy. Focusing on the techniques of democratization of the scenic means of production of Teatro do Oprimido by Augusto Boal, the piece occupies a territory between documentary and fiction and seeks to understand the construction of the 'Sem Terra' culture and collective identity through its artistic expressions.

In four acts, dancers combine steps of frevo, a traditional Carnival dance of Pernambuco State (Brazil), with others typical of contemporary rhythms like funk, swingueira, electro, and vogue.

The camera wanders through two stately homes , both of which are now open to the public as museums.

CINEMA CASINO is a film that looks at the aesthetics of traditional and pop dance forms experienced by young generations living on La Réunion, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean. Concentrating on the expression of bodies in movement, the piece frames cultural manifestations historically linked to anti-colonial resistance alongside contemporary trends aligned with a consumer-based industry embraced by emerging economies today. The registered dance sessions involve individuals and groups that perform in a staged event at "Le Casino", a cinema and theatre hall built in the 30's that also served for meetings of the worker's union of the city's port.