Directed Games

"A fisherman, dark-skinned and shirtless, sits in a boat on a quiet river and, before long, catches a fish. The fish gasps for air and the fisherman holds it to his chest until it dies. This sequence—performed by a series of fishermen, of various ages and using various styles of capture—is the spine of the work, interrupted by passages of quiet natural beauty; one shot is a steady, stately pan through scores of trees and empty air behind." - Vinson Cunningham

Pigeon Fanciers reflects on generational changes by exploring the unique relationship between humans and pigeons — pigeon fanciers and birds interact in front of the camera before the apotheotic moment of release. This is the first film by Jonathas de Andrade, one of the most important artists of his generation, shot outside of Brazil — a country he represented at the Venice Biennale in 2022.

As farm animals are prohibited anywhere in Recife, everyone who gets about by horse is made invisible from the point of view of the law. Only by dealing with the race as if it were scene from a movie – by being able, therefore, to have it considered as being to some extent a piece of "fiction" - is what would make the event feasible and fit to obtain the authorizations needed to make it happen from the official point of view.

The first recorded testimony of a group of Brazilian Catholic women who, in the 1970s, embraced the emerging movement of Liberation Theology — a force that reshaped the Church in Latin America by aligning faith with social justice and the struggles of the poor under authoritarian regimes. Pressured by the Brazilian dictatorship and in conflict with Church hierarchy, they broke with the institution, took a vow of anonymity, and fled into exile in Rome, escaping aboard cargo ships. Today, the fifteen women who remain from the original group agree, for the first time, to share their story.

With a cast of one hundred people making the street their home, a temporary community transforms a public square into a great stage.

The choreography repeated from generation to generation, the collective effort to lower and raise the rafts into the sea; the nautical gestures and respect for the right tide time; the knowledge passed down from father to son; a profession entangled with many others—roleiros, rafters, painters, sail makers, carpenters, and boat builders.

Ready for a new perspective? Ammodo Docs presents artistic shorts about original minds. In 15-minute films, renowned Dutch filmmakers challenge you to see the world through the eyes of pioneers in the arts and sciences. Ammodo Docs. Forward-thinking films.