For the seventh year in a row, the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival is bringing the best of Cinema Brasileiro to the City of Angels. Running from September 14 – 19, the fest brings screenings, after parties, red carpets, galas, and a film market to several locations throughout the L.A. area.
Opening night kicks off with the sports biopic The Great Victory about the life of Max Trombini. Fernando Meirelles (director of City of God) said about the film, “We don’t see this kind of a project a lot in Brazil, it is an inspirational movie about a little boy who wants to become a Judo champion. It is a very different genre from what has been done recently in Brazil.”
Another highlight is the documentary revisiting Fernando Meirelles’ seminal film — City of God: Ten Years Later looks at the impact the Oscar-nominated flick had on the lives of the actors and inhabitants of the favela where it was shot. Don’t blow this chance to check out the newest Brazilian films. Here are 5 documentaries and fiction movies you shouldn’t miss.
A grande vitória
The Great Victory
Director: Stefano Capuzzi Lapietra
Based on the book Aprendiz de Samurai, this sports biography dramatizes the life of Max Trombini (Caio Castro), a judo champion who overcame a troubled childhood to become one of the great Brazilian judo technicians in the history of the sport. The Great Victory (A Grande Vitória) is the opening night film at this year’s LABRFF.
8:00pm on Sunday, Sept 14 at the Linwood Dunn Theater (1313 Vine Street)
Faroeste caboclo
Brazilian Western
Director: René Sampaio
https://vimeo.com/100839063
An architecture student named João de Santo Cristo (Fabrício Boliveira) moves to Brasilia in the early 80s and gets caught up in the criminal world of drug trafficking. The film won seven awards at the 2014 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Screenplay by Marcos Bernstein and Victor Atherino.
8:45pm on Monday, Sept 15 at the Regent Theater (1045 Broxton Avenue)
Beyond Sight: The Derek Rabelo Story
Directors: Bruno Lemos & Bryan Jennings
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This sports documentary tells the story of Derek Rabelo, a young man who didn’t let the fact he was born blind stop him from working to become a professional surfer. The screening of Beyond Sight at LABRF marks the film’s U.S. premiere.
5:00pm on Thursday, Sept 18 at the LA Film School (6363 Hollywood Blvd.)
Cidade de Deus: 10 anos depois
City of God: 10 Years Later
Directors: Cavi Borges & Luciano Vidigal
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Ten years after director Fernando Meirelles’ 2002 masterpiece City of God (Cidade de Deus) hit theaters, this documentary takes a look at the positive and negative impacts the crime drama had on the lives of the people in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood where the film was set.
9:30pm on Thursday, Sept 18 at the LA Film School (6363 Hollywood Blvd.)
Para sempre nunca mais
Forever Nevermore
Director: Emerson Muzeli
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Set in Brazil 1932, this drama follows the forbidden love story between Luiza (Larissa Vereza), a Brazilian woman abused by her Italian colonialist husband, and Joaquim (Bruno Dubeux), a soldier of the Revolution. Forever Nevermore (Para sempre nunca mais) won the Indie Spirit Award at the 2014 Boston International Film Festival. It is the closing night film at this year’s LABRFF.
6:00pm on Friday, Sept 19 at the LA Film School (6363 Hollywood Blvd.)
The Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival runs from September 14 – 19, 2014.