5th Reel Brazil Film Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday 10
March 2015
5th Reel Brazil Film
Festival
Brazil, in the business of
Football and Cinema.
Since the start of 2002,
with the feature City of God (Fernando Meirelles),
Brazilian films have gone from strength to strength on the
international film festival circuit. Brazilian specific film
festivals having been popping-up all over the world. In New
Zealand, the 5th Reel Brazil Film Festival seems to have
swayed through its toddler years and is framing a riveting
selection of films and special events such as the Corporate
Opening Night Galas, the Reel Brazil Festas and the
Mini-Market.
The hosting of the FIFA World Cup this
year, followed by the Olympics Games in 2016, has increased
international interest not only for the games, but for all
things Brazilian. So for those of us who can't make it to
the games, Reel Brazil promises to offer a taste of
Brazilian culture on and off screen.
Brazilian expat
and film festival director, Leandro Cavalcanti, has put
together a programme that captures the different nuances of
a country that seems to be as rich and diverse in film as it
is in music. In April/May 2014, Reel Brazil is doing it’s
run and sunny Nelson joins Auckland & Wellington on their
film festival roadie.
This year’s award-winning film
selection includes 10 films with a mix of features,
documentaries and animations. In an effort to bring the New
Zealand and Brazilian film worlds together, opening every
Brazilian film will be a New Zealand short film, curated by
the New Zealand Film Commission.
The range of topic
matter is as diverse as usual. From stories about an
indigenous warrior who transverse six centuries fighting
against injustice through to a fast-cut, epic tale of
friendship and greed set in a hell-on-earth open pit mine; a
mesmerizing story of a Brazilian woman, who travels to New
York in search of her older sister and unanswered
questions’ and the experience of being in a Brazilian
football stadium transported to the big screen where the
flaming passion of football fanatics soars through the
theatre.
“People associate Brazil with music,
partying, football - basically having fun. The doco Fla X
Flu, for example, about the rivalry between the two largest
football clubs in Brazil, should “ignite a bit of
Brazilian spirit in everybody. But there are also many other
inspiring stories with which New Zealanders will relate to,
that depict universal themes of struggle, self discovery and
achievement” comments Leandro.
The Reel Brazil
Corporate Opening Night, a now well established event will
be a gala affair. The event includes the premier of a recent
Brazilian film and takes place in all 3 cities under the
patronage of the Brazilian Ambassador to New Zealand. It
connects people and businesses that have business interest
and a flare for Latin America. It provides the opportunity
for businesses and film enthusiasts alike to mix and mingle
with other community and business leaders, to the sound of
live Brazilian music, accompanied by gourmet canapés and
traditional cocktails.
“Brazil releases an average
of 80 feature films and documentaries yearly – almost 1/3
of which are made in co-production with other countries. On
top of the cultural exchange and promotional benefits, there
are great economic opportunities for New Zealanders here.”
- Comments Cavalcanti.
According to a study done by
Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2012-2016 - released by
PWC last year - the Brazilian film market, the largest in
Latin America, has a yearly growth rate of 6.7%. By end of
2016, it’s estimated that it will have a turnaround of US$
2,3 billion.
For the Festival Director, what makes an
event successful is having the right team of people, and
dosing hard work with fun. ”It’s amazing to look back
and think that in the first year (2009) it was a one man
operation with fourteen film sessions over four days. Now
our core team is made up of nine people, mainly volunteers,
and the festival takes place in three cities, screens one
hundred film sessions and spans over a total of 33
days!”
So whether you are into football, music, or
quality cinema, Reel Brazil has something for you! More
information is available via their website: www.reelbrazil.co.nz
Festival
dates are:
Auckland: 24 April - 4 May - Rialto Cinema
Newmarket
Wellington: 08 - 18 May - Paramount Cinema,
Wellington
Nelson: 21 - 25 May - Suter Cinema,
Nelson
Festival Highlights - full programme
will be confirmed by 31 March.
Rio
2096 - A Story of Love and Fury | Animation, Sci-FI | 2013 |
Dir: Luiz Bolognesi
Winner of the 2013 top award
from the largest animation film festival on the globe
(Annecy International Animated Film Festival, France),
Rio 2096 – A Story of Love and Fury revolves around
the love between Janaína and an Indian warrior who, upon
dying, takes the form of a bird. For over six centuries, the
couple’s story flourishes, passing through four phases of
Brazilian history: colonization, slavery, military regime
and the future (the year 2096), when a war over water takes
place in Rio de Janeiro. “As we glimpse into a dystopian
vision of Rio, our hero reflects on the potent message of
his journey: to live without knowing the past is to live in
the dark. Bolognesi's debut feature is his own attempt to
combat historical myopia.” - Zach Udko, Huffington
Post
Bald Mountain | Action, Drama | 2013
| 100mins | Dir: Heitor Dhalia
Made famous by
the black-and-white images taken by photographer Sebastiao
Salgado in 1986, the Brazilian gold rush to Serra Pelada,
southeast of the Amazon forest, saw approximately 120,000
people chasing their dreams of wealth. “Syncopated in its
editing, with a Scorsese-like voice over. Bald Mountain is
“a fast-cut, epic tale of friendship and greed set in the
early ‘80s Amazon at one of the biggest hell-on-earth open
pit mines in the world” - John Hopewell,
Variety
Elena | Documentary | 2012 | 82
min | Dir: Petra Costa
- A young Brazilian
woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her
mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her
childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military
dictatorship and Petra, her seven year old sister. Two
decades later, Petra also becomes an actress and goes to New
York in search of Elena. “A rare cinematic experience. A
film that generates 60 insights a minute”- Fernando
Meirelles, City of God
FLA x FLU |
Documentary, Football | 2013 | 85 min | Dir: Renato
Terra
More than a film about soccer, this is
doco is about passion made for all soccer fans. With
statements from football stars like Zico and Romário, among
other rabid fans, the film invites the viewer to share in
one of the Brazilian footballs most charming feuds - the
rivalry between two of the largest football clubs in Brazil:
Flamengo (Fla) and Fluminense (Flu). Aside from rescuing
historical footage and memorable football matches, Fla x
Flu alternates between factual and personal statements
from both teams, giving rise to provocations, jokes and
emotions.
[END]
================================
Notes
to editors:
History of Reel Brazil Film
Festival:
2009 First year, films shown
at Te Papa, tribute to the 100th birthday of Carmen
Miranda.
800 people attended over four days. Included
corporate screening on opening night, and a separate
Brazilian party.
2010 Festival expanded
to become the largest Brazilian event in New
Zealand.
Corporate Opening Night and parties in Auckland,
Wellington, Queenstown.
2011 3rd Reel
Brazil - took place during the Rugby World as an alternative
to the games. The moto was: “Passion, Drama, Colour! But
hey, this isn’t Rugby...” Biggest annual Brazilian event
in NZ! Corporate Opening Night and parties in Wellington and
Auckland.
2013 4th Reel Brazil - Took
place in Auckland and Wellington. Festival moto: “ See
Brazil through a different lens” Corporate Opening Night
in Auckland in association with Auckland Chamber of
Commerce. Reel Brazil Festa in Wellington was also the album
release of the band: Latinaotearoa.
Dates for
Reel Brazil 2014
Auckland: 24 April - 4 May -
Rialto Cinema Newmarket
Wellington: 08 - 18 May -
Paramount Cinema, Wellington
Nelson: 21 - 25 May - Suter
Cinema, Nelson
About Leandro
Cavalcanti
Leandro is the Executive Director for
Reel Brazil and was born in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He spent
his early childhood living in London, moved to New Zealand
in 2000 and spent 2007 – 2009 living in Toronto, where he
helped set-up a Brazilian film festival. In parallel with
running the film festival, he is working part-time as a
Programme Coordinator for the Social Housing Reform
Programme at the Ministry of Social Development in
Wellington.
During his decade living in New Zealand,
Leandro spent 4 years working for the Embassy of Brazil. The
Reel Brazil Film Festival is his initiative, drawing
together his passion for films, business development, Brazil
and New Zealand. He works as a volunteer and contracts to
different organisations throughout the year. He also works
as a business facilitator helping New Zealand companies
break into the Brazilian market, and in 2011 he contracted
to the NZ International Film Festival as the National
Outreach Coordinator. In 2012 - 2013 he was contracted to
work for Transpower as a Project Analyst on Asset Risk
Management, while continuing to run Reel Brazil.