Haroldo Costa

This biopic documents the life and work of one of Brazil’s most prolific artists: Milton Gonçalves. This actor and director are credited with more than sixty television titles, seventy movies and twenty plays. Known from classic full-length features like Macunaíma, They Don't Wear Black Tie and Kiss of the Spider Woman, his dramatic versatility also encompasses major Brazilian soap operas, including O Bem Amado and Roque Santeiro. With his talent, he overcame barriers faced by many Black performers in Brazil. An active on-screen and on-stage presence since the 1950s, his name is synonymous with the history of Brazilian television, theatre and cinema, making him a landmark talent in the performing arts world.

Samba on Your Feet explores the shared roots of Carnival and Samba in Brazil and how they’ve come together to form a unique and vibrant culture. The journey begins behind the scenes of Rio de Janeiro’s Samba schools. Here, we witness the hard work and dedication of choreographers, dancers, musicians, and costume makers coming together in the spirit of teamwork and collaboration to create a spectacle that celebrates the infectious rhythms of Samba. The camera of Montes-Bradley also explores nearby favelas, where the audience discovers more links between Carnival and Samba and learns about the cultural history linking both to common African traditions. Cultural historian Haroldo Costa is our host on this pilgrimage to the roots, illuminating the importance of Samba in Brazilian culture and explaining its influences on Carnival.

Documentary about Marcel Camus' 1959 film Black Orpheus, its cultural and musical roots, and its resonance in Brazil today.

Marcelo leaves his family and moves to Mato Grosso do Sul, where he learns how to fly airplanes by himself watching the pilots. One day, he responds the call of a drug dealer and uses his boss' plane to help the man to transport his cargo. He is hired by the drug lord to work transporting drugs in his airplanes. When he is arrested by the Federal Police, he does not rat his gang and the leader of the cartel gives a large amount of money as a bonus and asks him to leave the gang since he is known by the police. Marcelo uses the money to promote a party in the Carnival of Recife pretending to be the son of the owner of the Gol (a Brazilian air flight company). He lures the high-society, including the television presenter Amaury Jr. Marcelo is arrested again and is sent to prison. During a rebellion, he uses his leadership to present the claims of the prisoners and help to control the situation.

In a small city of Brazil, Flor (a very good looking woman) marries Vadinho, a very handsome and erotic man. Once married she finds he is a good-for-nothing. She works teaching cooking to her neighbours but he takes all her money to gamble. One day he dies. Flor misses the goods of the marriage so she marries again with a very correct gentleman – the owner of the drugstore (Teodoro). Now she’s very happy with her man, but misses the erotic moments with her previous husband. Then the ghost of Vadhino comes to earth to chase her.

A woman is taken along with her mother in 1910 to a far-away desert by her husband, and after his passing, is forced to spend the next 59 years of her life hopelessly trying to escape it.

The dictator of a small Caribbean island receives the New York Times daily, sent by a nephew. Through the newspaper, he gets in touch with the world. Guerrilla groups try to neutralize this information system.

A young and sensitive couple's impossible love affair.

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.

A young woman from high society decides to raffle herself to raise money to complete the construction of a hospital, a social project she has dedicated herself to. She takes a nude photograph, orders several copies made, which are numbered and sold. The plan was initially intended to be limited to those close to her, and various measures were taken to ensure the photograph would not be seen by a limited circle. However, these measures prove unsatisfactory, and soon the raffle goes beyond the limits controlled by its promoter. The event becomes the talk of the town, and the raffle photos are sold and voraciously purchased everywhere on the streets, in universities, offices, and stores.

The life of writer, journalist, and TV presenter Edna Savaget, who began her career as a police reporter at Rádio Nacional in the late 1940s and hosted television programs between the 1950s and 1980s.

It tells the story of a girl being abducted by the evil pirate with a wooden leg.

It tells the story of Chiquinha Gonzaga, a revolutionary musician who marked the history of music in Brazil, and challenged the social standards of her time. Chiquinha was raised very comfortably and had an excellent education provided by his father, Jose Basileu, who expected his daughter to be a lady of the imperial court. But after listening to songs played in a black yard and influenced by friends, such as composer Joaquim Callado, Chiquinha begins to make compositions mixing polka and lundu. By imposition of her father, Chiquinha is forced to marry Jacinto, with whom she has three children. However, Jacinto forbids her to play, and she decides to separate from her husband, going against social standards. Chiquinha, then, fights for his freedom to play and will live with the great love of his youth, João Batista de Carvalho Jr., with whom he has a daughter, Alice.

Conceição is a poor girl that left Minas Gerais in search for a new life, away from the coal ovens. She runs away on a cargo train to Rio de Janeiro, where later she takes shelter with a loving family in Rio's suburbs. She falls in love with Cleiton, a hard working and rebel young man, who grew up without a father and lives between good and evil. Conceição becomes a brazilian funk star, but she doesn't loose her pure nature, reassuring her integrity before the obstacles of life. These common people face a recurring dilemma to all of us: How to maintain your notion of justice, ethics and morals, in times of violence, inequity and decadence of values?