Memórias de Classe

Raça

Documentary on ethnic relations in Brazil.

Denying Brazil

A documentary film about the taboos, stereotypes, and struggles of black actors in Brazilian television "soaps". Based on his own memories and on a sturdy body of research evidence, the director analyses race relations in Brazilian soap operas, calling attention to their likely influence on Brazilian African-Americans' identity-forming processes.

Retrato em Preto e Branco

The documentary is structured as a video letter from a black man denouncing the persistence of racism in Brazilian society and media, a century after the official end of slavery. Thus, it presents the contradictions between two images of racial relations in Brazil: the image disseminated abroad, which spreads the myth of racial democracy, and the internal image, presented in textbooks and on television, in which negative stereotypes are perpetuated against the black population.

PCC, Secret Power

A piercing four-part docuseries exploring the rise of Brazil’s largest crime organization, Primeiro Comando da Capital – better known as the PCC. The First Command of the Capital (PCC) holds the hegemony of crime in São Paulo, but also an international presence. Narrated by the "brothers", the secret of the PCC's power is revealed in its structure: a masonry of crime, implacable in your ideals.

Mussum: Um Filme do Cacildis

The trajectory of musician and comedian Mussum as vocalist of the group "Os Originais do Samba" and later in cinema and TV as a member of "Os Trapalhões", a group that revolutionized the way of making humor on Brazilian television.

Daughters of the Wind

In a small town in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, two sisters meet again after years apart.

O Pai da Rita

Roque and Pudim, composers from the old school of Vai-Vai, share a kitchnete, decades of friendship, love for their samba school and a doubt about the past: what happened to dancer Rita, their passion. The emergence of Ritinha, the dancer's daughter, threatens to collapse this great friendship.

My Friend Fela

Most often portrayed as an eccentric African pop idol of the ghetto, Fela is rarely presented as the strong political leader he was. Through the eyes his close friend and official biographer, the African-Cuban intellectual Carlos Moore, this documentary is devoted to unravel the complexity of Fela’s life. As the story unfolds, it reveals the glories and tragedies that shaped the lives of the pan-African generation as well as Fela's.

Pitanga

This documentary investigates the aesthetic, political and existential trajectory of emblematic Black Brazilian actor Antônio Pitanga. His career spans over five decades, and he has worked with iconic Brazilian filmmakers Glauber Rocha, Cacá Diegues and Walter Lima Jr. He was a prominent figurehead and outspoken activist during the Brazilian dictatorship, a period of unrest in Brazilian cinema. "Pitanga" deep dives into the world of Antônio and the history of Brazil. The documentary was directed by his daughter Camila Pitanga, one of widely recognised faces in Brazilian television and cinema right now. The film is also a poem, and a tender ode to fatherhood.

Ecos do Teatro Experimental do Negro

Nossos Bravos

Docudrama on labor mobilizations in the beginning of the 20th century in Brazil, led by union organizations with anarcho-socialist influence. Using fictional resources and historical archives, the film reconstructs an important part of the memory of Brazilian unionism and its biggest strikes, establishing a dialogue between different working generations.

Cinderellas, Wolves and a Prince Charming

Around 900 thousand people are trafficked a year for international borders only for sexual exploitation. However, despite all the dangers, young Brazilian women to enter the world of sex tourism, believe that they will change their lives and their dream of finding a Charming Prince. A minority find a great love and get married. The film goes from the Brazilian Northeast to Berlin seeking to understand the sexual as well racial imaginary and power of young southern Cinderellas and northern wolves.

Cadernos Negros

Vista Minha Pele

"Vista Minha Pele" is an amusing parody of Brazilian reality. It serves as basic material for discussing racism and prejudice in the classroom. In this inverted story, blacks are the ruling class and whites were enslaved. Poor countries are Germany and England, while rich countries are, for example, South Africa and Mozambique. Maria is a poor white girl who studies at a private school thanks to the scholarship that she has due to the fact that her mother is a cleaning lady at this school. Most of her colleagues are hostile to her, because of her color and social status, with the exception of her friend Luana, the daughter of a diplomat who, having lived in poor countries, has a more comprehensive view of reality.

Almerinda, Uma Mulher de Trinta

Rescue of the life story of feminist activist from the 1930s, Almerinda Farias Gama, participant in the struggle for the right to vote for women in the 1934 Constitution, and activist of the Brazilian Federation for Female Progress, together with Bertha Lutz.

Homens de Rua

The film is close to the experiences of men and women forced to survive on the streets of São Paulo in the early 1990s, a time of deteriorating living conditions for workers, high unemployment and increasing urban poverty. Between approaching the problem as something structural and a sensitive look at the characters, the documentary portrays the lives of people who lost their work, distanced themselves from their affections and saw their identity disintegrate.