Event

The Centre for Language Learning (CLL), UWI St Augustine will host a Brazilian Film Week from Wednesday 30th September to Sunday 4th October, 2009. The Film Week is intended to showcase the creative wealth of the Brazilian film industry, to provide interested persons with further exposure to Brazilian culture and lifestyle, and to promote Brazilian Portuguese language learning.

The event is open to the general public, except the opening night, which will be by invitation only. 

Following is the schedule of the Festival:

30^TH SEPTEMBER: 

6pm cocktail reception:  By invitation only – not open to public. 

7pm screening of “Owner of the Story”- (Comedy/2005/84 min) Direction: Daniel Filho.

Synopsis: Carolina is going through a midlife crisis. Her best friend from college days is a famous actress interviewed on late night TV and all Carolina has to show for her life is a devoted husband and four grown-up children. As they prepare to sell the apartment in Rio that they've had for 32 years of marriage, Carolina revisits her youth and converses with the Carolina of college days, questioning the course of her life. The present talks with the past, and young and old Carolina exchange impressions in a fascinating game between memories and desires.

By invitation only – not open to public.

1^ST OCTOBER

7.15pm screening of “Behind the Sun” – (Drama/2002/95 min) Direction: Walter Salles

Synopsis: Set in the desert landscape of the Brazilian Northeast, “Behind the sun” tells the story of a young man ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother, assassinated by a rival family. Torn between fulfilling his ancestral duty and rebelling against a tradition of violence, he comes into contact with a new perspective that may offer a way out of his dilemma. Nominated for the Golden Globes and by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for best foreign film and masterfully directed by award-winning Walter Salles (Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries).

2^nd OCTOBER

7.15pm:  screening of “Romance - The movie” – (Drama/2008/105 min) Direction: Guel Arraes

Synopsis:  In this remarkable story of and about love, two young actors fall in love during rehearsals for the classic play “Tristan and Iseult”. While recreating and experiencing the story of this mythical couple, whose plot is retold with slight variations in most love affairs, they try to come up with their own manner of connecting, one that is less tragic and more open, but equally charged with the tension and emotion brought about by a great love.

3^rd OCTOBER

5.30pm: screening of “Elite Squad” – (Thriller/ 2007) Direction: José Padilha

Synopsis:  Winner of the Golden Berlin Bear 2008, this much talked about masterpiece is a story of two childhood friends who decide to enlist for a Special Operations Squad whose mission is to take down the drug-lords that plague the city. Both men struggle to survive, facing the daily challenges of dealing with pressure at home and fighting an unnamed war on the streets. This story brings a welcome sociological perspective that has rarely had the chance to be presented.

4^TH OCTOBER

5.30pm:  screening of “Lisbela and the Prisoner” – (Comedy/2004/106 min) Direction: Guel Arraes

Synopsis: Set to marry fiancé Douglas in a month, Lisbela appears to spend most of her time at the movies with her sweetheart. She suddenly grows disinterested in the handsome if hick-like Douglas and has her heart stolen by traveling showman and con man Leléu. Leléu’s raffish charms are undeniable, but he is not for a moment the sort of fellow who would hook a nice bourgeois girl like Lisbela.  A wacky comedy by one of Brazil’s most promising directors.   

For more information, please contact: Vanessa Williams, Centre for Language Learning at Vanessa.Williams@sta.uwi.edu; Ext. 3896; Tel/fax 662-0758; Paulo Medeiros, Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Brazil: phbarauna@hotmail.com; Tel. 622 5771/ 740 3474.