São Paulo – Lebanese movie buffs will be able to enjoy the first edition of the Brazilian Film Festival from August 31 to September 3 in Beirut. Brazilian and Brazilian-Lebanese productions will be featured with subtitles in English. The event is organized by the embassy of Brazil in Beirut, the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Center, and Metropolis Cinema, where the movies will be screened.
“Every November we feature a movie in the Ibero-American Film Festival [in Beirut], and every year it’s been a success. That made us realize this opportunity to show our motion pictures by having a festival,” explains Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Center director Najua Bazzi.
The event will feature the movies Nise: The Heart of Madness, by Roberto Berliner; Orphans of Eldorado, by Guilherme Coelho; Casa Grande, by Fellipe Barbosa and Don’t Call Me Son, by Anna Muylaert. Also featured will be the short films Lebanon Wins the Word Cup, by Tonny ElKhoury and Antony Lappé; and Apelo, by Bechara Mouzannar.
The short films were made by Lebanese directors but feature Brazil as their subject or their setting. “Lebanon Wins the Word Cup approaches Brazil in a very positive way. It shows that the [Lebanese civil] war was halted in 1982 the day of the Brazil vs. Italy match so people could watch it,” Bazzi.
According to her, the films were selected on the basis of awards won, subject matter diversity, and of whether they had been shown in Lebanon before. The first evening of the event will be free of charge, including an open-to-the-public cocktail reception. On the closing night, the Lebanese movies will be shown, and filmmakers Tonny ElKhoury and Bechara Mouzannar will chat with the audience.
Bazzi believes that festival opener Nise: The Heart of Madness shows women’s empowerment, which remains a delicate topic in Lebanon. “It tells the story of a nurse who fights to change psychiatric treatments in 1950s Brazil. She suffers a great deal with the doctors mocking her,” she says. The director notes that the movie’s choice is also a way of showing that various film genres are made in Brazil.
She adds that in Lebanon, most movie theaters are inside malls, just like in Brazilian big cities, but the Metropolis Cinema is an exception. “It’s an older theater that stages festivals and alternative films,” she says.
American film is quite popular in the Arab country, but local and French cinemas also get plenty of screen time. That doesn’t rule out movies made elsewhere, since Lebanon’s home to people from several nationalities, Bazzi notes. “Ibero-American cinema is featured every year in its own festival, and it’s much appreciated. The people enjoy it,” she says.
Quick facts
Brazilian Film Festival – First edition
August 31 to September 3
Opening cocktail reception on August 31, 7pm
Opening and festival venue: Metropolis Cinema
Ticket: 8,000 Lebanese pounds
For the full program go to http://migre.me/uHfI9
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum