2015 It's All True ANNOUNCES LINE-UP
● It’s All True Celebrates its 20th anniversary with Retrospective, Panels and
Books
● “Last Conversations”, by Coutinho, opens in São Paulo and in Rio de
Janeiro
● 109 films from 31 Countries, 16 World Premieres
● Winner will automatically qualify for an Oscar for best documentary
● Retrospective and Book Celebrate Vladimir Carvalho’s 80th birthday
● Art, Movie Screenings and Photographic Making Of Honor Welles'
Centenary
● Free admission to all screenings
In its 20th edition, 2015 It's All True - International Documentary Film Festival
presents a selection of 109 films from 31 countries, including 16 world premieres.
The festival takes place between April 9th-19th in São Paulo and April 10th-19th in
Rio de Janeiro. It follows to Belo Horizonte from April 29th to May 4th; to Santos
from May 7th-10th and to Brasília from May 27th to June 1st. Free admission to
all screenings.
1
Founder and director: Amir Labaki
It's All True 2015 - 20th International Documentary Film Festival is co-produced
by BNDES, OI, PETROBRAS, SABESP. CCBB, The City of São Paulo and
RIOFILME, with the support from the Ministry of Culture - Audiovisual
Secretariat/ Law no. 8.313/91 (Rouanet Cultural Bill) and the State Government of
São Paulo/ SP Department of Culture – Cultural Action Program (PROAC), Rio
State Government/ Rio Department of Culture – Rio Cultural Bill and São Paulo
Department of Culture.
“There are very concrete foundations for It's All True to have passed through two
decades. On one hand, nonfiction audiovisual production has never been so
intense, vigorous and present in the daily lives of so many people. On the other
hand, despite the proliferation of platforms for access to this and other kinds of
productions, film festivals have never been so important”, says Amir Labaki,
founder and director of the It’s All True Festival.
“Three celebrations will drive the focus of our Festival: the centennial of Orson
Welles' birth (1915-1985), Vladimir Carvalho’s 80th birthday and the It's All True
Festival’s 20th edition. It gives us the opportunity to examine two masters’
contribution to documentary production as well as to evaluate the last two decades
of the documentary genre in Brazil and throughout the world”, confirmed Labaki.
OPENING FILM
"Last Conversations", the final documentary directed by Eduardo Coutinho (19332014), will be the opening film for guests of the 20th It's All True - International
Documentary Film Festival to be held on April 9th and 10th, 2015. With a running
time of around 90 minutes, "Last Conversations" features Coutinho chatting with
young carioca (Rio de Janeiro native) students.
2
“Coutinho didn't have time to put together what would turn out to be his last film,"
explains producer João Moreira Salles (Videofilmes). "It’s all about conversations
with young people who have their whole life ahead of them. For me, at least, that
circumstance makes the poignancy of 'Last Conversations'".
"It is a great honor to present Coutinho’s last film at the opening of our 20th It’s All
True Film Festival, and we are immensely thankful to Videofilmes for providing it
to us”, says Amir Labaki, founder and Director of the festival.
"Last Conversations" did not initially bear the marks of a farewell film. However,
in actually being one, it’s a beautiful closure to one of the most original works in
the history of world documentary and Brazilian cinema," Labaki states.
“Last Conversations” will have public screenings on the program.
BRAZILIAN FEATURE AND MEDIUM-LENGTH COMPETITION
The Brazilian Feature and Medium-Length Competition will present seven
films – all world premieres. The winner will receive an award of R$110,000 and
the It’s All True trophy created by visual artist Carlito Carvalhosa.
The selected films are:
The Way Back, by José Joffily and Pedro Rossi (RJ, 80 min., 2015).
André Câmara is a 45-year old Brazilian photographer who’s been living in
London for 20 years. 87-year-old Maria do Socorro left for the US 25 years ago to
follow her son, Fernando. Both André and Maria wish to return to live in Brazil.
Between emigration and a return to their roots, they will have to forge a new
identity.
3
World premiere.
I Am Carlos Imperial, by Renato Terra and Ricardo Calil (RJ, 90 min., 2015).
Carlos Imperial (1935-1992) is a legendary character in Brazilian cultural scene.
The film reconstructs a journey filled with fiction, reality, legend and memories of
those who knew him.
World premiere.
Film About Bom Fim, by Boca Migotto (RS, 88 min., 2015).
Bom Fim (lit. “Good End”) is a traditional neighbourhood in Porto Alegre,
amassing such rich stories that it became the epicenter of cultural transformations
in the 60’s and 70’s.
World premiere.
Orestes, by Rodrigo Siqueira (SP, 93 min., 2015).
The daughter of a betrayed and executed political militant, a pro-death penalty
defender and a nurse who deals on a daily basis with the débris of violence are
some of the characters who confront in this reflexion about the mechanisms of
justice.
World premiere.
JL’s Passion, by Carlos Nader (SP, 82 min., 2014).
In January 1990, artist José Leonilson starts registering an intimate journal. His
views on events that shook both Brazil and overseas permeate his confessions.
However, J.L. suffers the unexpected blow of the discovery that he himself is HIV
positive.
World premiere.
SevenVisits, by Douglas Duarte (RJ, 73 min., 2015).
This film is a behind-the-scenes look at a documentary of interviews spotlighting
4
Silvana, a woman who has overcome difficult challenges in her life, and her
encounter with various interviewers.
World premiere.
A Film of Cinema, by Walter Carvalho (RJ, 108 min., 2015).
An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial
setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and
playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers.
World premiere.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE AND MEDIUM-LENGTH COMPETITION
12 Brazilian inedited feature length films are participating in the International
Feature And Medium-Length Competitions. For the very first time, no less than
five of the selected films are produced or co-produced in Latin America. The
winner will receive an award of R$15,000 and the It’s All True trophy created by
visual artist Carlito Carvalhosa.
Emergency Call - A Murder Mystery, by Pekka Lehto (Finland, 83 min., 2014).
The film explores the circumstances behind a murder in the western Finnish town
of Ulvila, a case that remains unsolved several years later defying the public
understanding and justice.
IDFA 2014
Nitrate Flames, by Mirko Stopar (Norway/Argentina, 62 min., 2014).
The parallelism between glory and tragedy uniting the Carl Theodore Dreyer’s
classic, "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928), and its charismatic protagonist,
Renée Falconetti is the leitmotif of this film - beloved by them both.
5
Eurodok, Oslo; Norwegian Short & Documentary Film Festival, Grimstad;
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen, 2014.
The Council, by Yahya Alabdallah (Jordan/United Arab Emirates, 80 min., 2014).
A Palestinian primary UNRWA school in the Sukhna area in Jordan announces
student council elections. The film is about the students Abed and Omar' journey
from the moment the elections are announced until the end of the academic year.
Director Yahya Alabdallah, who was an Arabic teacher, remained unvisible for an
year at the school.
Dubai 2014
France is Our Mother Country, by Rithy Pahn (75min, France, 2014).
Solely utilizing archival footage, acclaimed French-Cambodian filmmaker Rithy
Panh reviews nearly a century of French colonisation in Indochina.
FIPA, France, 2015
Tea Time, by Maite Alberdi (Chile/USA, 70 min., 2014).
For 60 years, a group of old friends gets together religiously once a month, since
the end of high school. Although they have endured hard times and experienced
historical and political transformations in Chile, these turbulences never seem to
come to the table or unsettle their friendship.
Sanfic. Chile; IDFA – Best debutant film award and EDA Winner for Best Director;
2014; 32. Miami International Film Festival - best documentary ; 30. Festival
Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara – best Latin American documentary
The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid, by
Nicolas Rossier (USA, 75 min., 2014).
The last South African head of state of under apartheid, who went from being
Nelson Mandela's jailer to his vice-president in 1994, Frederik Willem de Klerk is
considered an enigmatic character.
6
IDFA and DURBAN International Film Festival, 2014.
Pekka, by Alexander Oey (Netherlands, 90 min., 2014).
In 2007, a young man shot eight people to death at a high school in the outskirts of
Helsinki. The film is a reconstruction of this shocking event, using testimonials of
classmates, teachers and parents, and YouTube films made by the own boy lead
into a haunting reconstruction of the events that prompted the tragedy.
IDFA 2014
What Happened, Miss Simone?, by Liz Garbus (USA, 102 min., 2015).
Amid the day-to-day fight for civil rights, Nina Simone (1933-2003) struggled to
reconcile artistic ambition with her fierce devotion to a movement. As a classical
pianist pigeonholed in jazz, as a professional boxed in by family life, as a black
woman in racist America— the film reveals a towering figure transcending
categorization and her times.
Sundance and Berlinale, 2015.
Following Nazarín: The Echo of a Land in Another Land, by Javier Espada
(Spain/Mexico, 75 min., 2015).
Equipped with an old Leica camera, identical to the one used by Buñuel to take
preliminary photos in Morelos state, Javier Espada rediscovers the settings and
behind-the-scenes events of the production of “Nazarín”.
30o Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara, 2015.
Your Parents Will Come Back, by Pablo Martínez Pessi (Uruguay, 80 min.,
2015).
In 1983, a group of 154 children aged 3 to 17 years old travelled alone to
Montevideo from Europe. They were the children of political exiles from Uruguay,
who, unable to return themselves, had sent their children to meet relatives and to
7
see their home country. Six of them talk about their unusual childhood from a
perspective of "children of exile".
The Visit, by Michael Madsen (Denmark, 83 min., 2014).
This documentary explores the possibilities of mankind’s first encounter with
intelligent extraterrestrial life. The Visit draws alternatives around a hypothetical
landing of gigantic manned aircraft from space at the United Nations Office for
Outer Space Affairs' headquarters in Austria.
Sundance, 2015 .
Time Suspended, by Natalia Bruschtein (Mexico, 64 min., 2015).
Filmmaker Natalia Bruschtein tell the story of her grandmother, Laura Bruschtein
Bonaparte, one of the founders of the Mothers of Plaza del Mayo, who never
faltered in her relentless struggle against historical amnesia and for the justice of
the crimes committed by the state in Argentina.
30o Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara, 2015
BRAZILIAN SHORT FILM COMPETITION
The Brazilian Short Film Competition will show a total of nine films, there
inedited. The winner will receive an award of R$10,000 and the It’s All True
trophy created by visual artist Carlito Carvalhosa.
For the first time at this historic event, the winning title will automatically qualify
to be considered by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in
Hollywood to compete for the Oscar for best short documentary. It's All True is
the first and only South American festival to have been granted this status.
8
Caetana, by Felipe Nepomuceno (RJ, 15 min., 2014).
In April 2014, three months before his death, writer and playwright Ariano
Suassuana talks about God and chats with “Caetana”, which is the word for death
in the Northeast sector of Brazil.
The Empty City, by Cristiano Burlan (SP, 8 min., 2015).
The other side of a non-stop metropolis: the times when São Paulos turns off from
everything and simply drifts to sleep.
World premiere.
The Mulberry Mountain Range II, by Jamille Fortunato (MS, 12 min.,
2014/2015).
An 8-year-old Guarani Kaiowá Indian girl named Karine Martines living in the
Amambai Indian Village in Mato Grosso do Sul near the Brazil-Paraguay border,
transforms her backyard into an experiment of the world. She creates stories and
characters that broaden her solitude into games, dreams and projects.
De Profundis, by Isabela Cribari (PE, 20 min., 2014).
Relocated after the flooding of a city due to the construction of a hydroelectric
power plant, the inhabitants of Itacuruba (state of Pernambuco) present an index of
suicides ten times greater than the national average. The filmmaker and
psychoanalyst Isabela Cribari recorded their voices and also a portrait of repressed
pain.
The Party and The Barking, by Leonardo Mouramateus (CE, 25 min., 2015).
In the outskirts of Fortaleza, stray dogs would arrive and take over the streets, as if
retrieving their wild state.
Nelson dos Santos, by Paulo Silver e Albert Ferreira (AL, 19 min., 2014).
A former farmer and cane cutter, accordion player, composer and one of Brazil’s
9
most renowned self-taught fiddler, Nelson dos Santos unravels his art by crafting
and selling his handmade violins (rabecas) in Marechal Deodoro (state of
Alagoas). In his element, surrounded by his family, dos Santos' singular human
condition speaks out.
Portrait of Carmen D., by Isabel Joffily (RJ, 22 min., 2015).
72-year old Carmen Dametto is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst from Rio Grande
do Sul state who lives in Rio de Janeiro. She is an advocate of unorthodox therapy
and works in her large house from where she hardly leaves.
World premiere.
Untitled # 2 : LA MER LARME, by Carlos Adriano (SP, 28 min., 2015).
The sea seen by 19th century events, produced in 1891, 1895, 1897 and 1900 in
Brazil, United States, France and England. From the series "Notes for SelfProjection and Autobiography in Film (in Return)."
World premiere.
The Life We Only Hear About, by Julia Tami Ishikawa (SP, 21 min., 2014).
When one can’t read and their perception of the world depends solely on hearing,
everything is different. From Manari (Pernambuco state) to Franco da Rocha (São
Paulo state), experiences and stories that could never be written find their
expression in these images.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION - SHORT FILMS
The Short Films International Competition will show a total of nine films. The
winner will receive an award of R$8,000 and the It’s All True trophy created by
visual artist Carlito Carvalhosa.
10
For the first time at this historic event, the winning title will automatically qualify
to be considered by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in
Hollywood to compete for the Oscar for best short documentary. It's All True is
the first and only South American festival to have been granted this status.
#73, by Rekesh Shahbaz (Kurdistan, 23 min., 2015).
The advance of the ISIS in Iraq and Syria has left a trail of mass executions, as it
occurs against the minority Yazidi. The film follows a young man who returns to
his village under siege to save his elderly parents who stayed behind.
World premiere
The Claustrum, by Jay Rosenblatt (USA, 16 min., 2014).
Based on actual psychoanalytic case studies, director Jay Rosenblatt focuses on the
situation of three women who are in enclosed psychological zones known as
“claustrum”.
Victory Day, by Alina Rudnitskaya (Russia, 30 min., 2014).
Several gay couples talk about the devastating effects on their personal lives after a
2013 law in Russia that prohibits "propaganda of non-traditional sexual
relationships among minors".
A Lost Film, by Eduardo Amaro (Portugal, 11 min., 2014).
A middle-aged man retraces his own childhood after finding old pictures of his
parents. But, first, he needs to face a range of unresolved emotions and
experiences.
The Island that Was, by Alberto Gambato (Italy, 10 min., 2014).
In 1954, Italian neorealist director Renato Dall'Ara joined a group of cinephile and
11
communist friends to direct his first short film. The setting was the island of Scano
Boa. Sole survivor of that troupe, Lamberto Morelli recalls the adventure.
White Death, by Roberto Collío (Chile, 17 min., 2014).
The film portrays the story of 44 soldiers and one Sargent, who died frozen
following their superior’s orders on a mountain area near Antuco region in Chile.
With animation techniques mixed with sound and images of the tragedy site, the
film recreates the instant in which the soldiers were subdued by a snowstorm.
If Mama Ain’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy, by Mea de Jong (Netherlands, 25 min.,
2014).
Coming from a family of four generations of independent women that have never
relied on long-term relationships with men, filmmaker Mea de Jong turns the
camera on herself and her mother, Laura. Her father and ex-boyfriends are also
called to provide their versions in a film that investigates the uniqueness of this
female clan.
Super-Unit, by Teresa Czepiec (Poland, 20 min., 2014).
Built in the 60s, the largest building in Poland houses about 3,000 people in 762
apartments. Amid a labyrinth of corridors and staircases, each door conceals a life
story. Some of them will open and be shared.
Bear, by Pascal Flörks (Germany, 9 min., 2014).
Although his grandfather never talked openly about his Nazi past, it would break
through in something he'd say or do. Revisiting his life, filmmaker Pascal Flörks
re-evaluates and puts into perspective the weight of his inheritance.
TRIBUTES
BRAZILIAN RETROSPECTIVE: VLADIMIR, 80
12
The Vladimir, 80 retrospective is dedicated to brazilian filmmaker Vladimir
Carvalho, who just turned 80 last January. Born in Paraíba state but regarded as an
“honorary citizen” of Brasilia, Vladimir Carvalho is an essential figure in Brazilian
cinematographic history.
To celebrate its birthday, the It's All True Festival is organizing a Retrospective
serie with four of its main feature-length and two bio-pics dedicated to him. In
addition, the festival will promote the launch of the "Cinema’s Journal" book (It's
All True/Imprensa Oficial) in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília, gathering a
collection of his writers about cinema. Vladimir Carvalho will also discuss his
career at the It's All True - 14th International Documentary Conference –
Petrobras.
Old-time Veteran Countrymen, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brasília/Brazil, 153 min.,
1991).
The stories of the workers, by all parts of Brazil, in the construction of the new
country’s capital, Brasília, making an inventory of the humiliation and abuses they
endured.
The Gospel According to Teotônio, by Vladimir Carvalho (São Paulo/Brazil, 90
min., 1984).
The film dissects the life of Senator Teotônio Vilela (1917-1983), a former
conservative landowner in the 50’s who became the “Re-democratization
movement's Don Quixote” in the 80’s.
The Man of Areia, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 116 min., 1981).
The film addresses José Américo de Almeida’s memoirs about some of the most
dramatic events in Brazilian history. He was a key-actor in President Vargas’
13
seizure of power in 1930 and one of the founders of the Brazilian Modernist
literary movement with his novel “A Bagaceira” (Trash, 1928).
The Country of St. Saruê, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 85 min., 1971).
Filmed in the late 60’s in the hinterland of the Northeast sector of Brazil, the film
depicts the life of peasants and gold diggers among other humble workers,
featuring their struggle against the drought and their historical exploitation by big
landowners – in a political context that got the film censored in 1971.
Vladimir Carvalho: Old-time Veteran Countryman, by Dácia Ibiapina
(Brasília/Brazil, 54 min., 2004).
Vladimir Carvalho is the object of this film that recalls his origins in Itabaiana in
the state of Paraíba where he was born 80 years ago and his journey across the
country.
Vladimir Carvalho, A Gregarious Look, by Walter Carvalho (Brazil, 30 min.,
2006).
Director of photography Walter Carvalho reveals some unknown talents of his
brother, the documentary filmmaker Vladimir Carvalho, as a poet, a designer and
an artisan of wood-cut works, with aspects of his personality that are reflected in
his work.
TWO DECADES OF IT'S ALL TRUE
Three special iniciatives celebrate It’s All True 20th edition.
14
Twenty in Pairs Retrospective will examine ten pairs of remarkable titles
in the history of the festival.
Two roundtables will discuss the documentary production at It's All True – 14th
International Documentary Conference - Petrobras.
In co-edition with Cosac Naify Publishing House, It’s All True presents the book
"Each One’s Truth", an anthology of texts by 32 top documentary filmmakers,
organized and presented by Amir Labaki. "Each One’s Truth" will be released in
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília and Belo Horizonte.
Twenty in Pairs Retrospective films are:
Program 1
The House on Arbat Street, by Marina Goldovskaya (France/Russia, 59 min.,
1993).
A synthesis of Russian history in the 20th Century emerges from the memories of
the residents of an old house on Arbat Street in Moscow.
In the Pit, by Juan Carlos Rulfo (Mexico, 84 min., 2006).
In Mexico City, a second lane is under construction above the ring road, which
surrounds the whole city. The workers who are building the it are barely noticed by
drivers who endlessly rush by. The film places us in the universe of these workers.
15
Program 2
The Television and Me, by Andrés di Tella (Argentina, 75 min., 2002).
A film-essay that connects the filmmaker’s first personal recollection of television
to the earliest memories of television in Argentina.
Santiago, by João Moreira Salles (Brazil, 79 min., 2006).
The images of Santiago were captured in 1992, but as the director was not able to
edit them, they remained untouched for over 13 years. In 2005 the director got
back to them. Santiago had been a butler at the house he grew up in, a man of great
culture and marvelous memory.
Program 3
The Gate of Heavenly Peace, by Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton (USA, 188
min., 1995).
Documentary about the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the resulting
Beijing Massacre of June 4.
Fengming - A Chinese Memoir, by Wang Bing (China, 184 min., 2007).
A former journalist and school teacher, 60-year-old He Fengming recalls the
painful details of how the 1949 Chinese Revolution turned into a nightmare. In the
early 50’s, Fengming was sent to work in the fields as a punishment for being the
wife of a journalist who was a strong opposer of the increasing bureaucratization of
the Chinese state.
Program 4
Citizen Boilesen, by Chaim Litewski (Brazil, 92 min., 2009).
The financing of the repression of left-wing opponents reveals the insidious
connections between the business community and Brazil’s military dictatorship in
16
the 60’s and 70’s. The documentary shows testimonies on Henning Albert Boilesen
(1916-1971), president of Ultra group.
Tropicália, by Marcelo Machado (Brazil, 87 min., 2011).
Led by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil at the end of the 60s, the Tropicália
movement reached its peak in the effervescent musical scene polarized by
television festivals of the time.
Program 5
Santo Forte, by Eduardo Coutinho (Brazil, 80 min., 1999).
In 1997, a film crew entered the Vila Parque da Cidade shanty town, located on the
south side of Rio, while its inhabitants attend the mass celebrated by Pope John
Paul II, held on Flamengo beach. In December, the crew returns to the shanty town
to investigate how its inhabitants live out their religious experience.
El Sicario - Room 164, by Gianfraco Rosi (France, 84 min., 2010).
In the same motel room on the border between Mexico and the USA where a
hostage was kept years ago, a killer who for two decades worked for the drug
traffickers of Ciudad Juárez decides to tell his story.
Program 6
The Unseen, by Miroslav Janek (Czech Republic, 53 min., 1996).
At a blind school in the Czech Republic, the children exuberantly show off their
remarkable talents – as musicians, as radio announcers, as daredevil bike riders and
as photographers. Why take pictures of a world you can’t see? To capture
memories and images that allow them to establish a connection with the world.
17
First Cousin Once Removed, by Alan Berliner (USA, 78 min., 2013).
Acclaimed poet and translator Edwin Honig struggled for years with Alzheimer‘s
disease. Filmmaker Alan Berliner seeks not just to reconstruct the path of this man
who was his mentor, but to also trace the defining importance of memory.
Program 7
The Sea that Thinks, by Gert De Graaff (Netherlands, 100 min., 2000).
In a film that utilizes optical illusions, a screenwriter seeking a theme is at the
center of the creation of a "story within a story." What he does, he writes about.
What he writes about, he does. And the border between reality and imagination
appears definitively cleared before the spectator's eyes. But is that what's really
going on?
The Five Obstructions, by Lars Von Trier and Jørgen Leth (Denmark, 90 min.,
2003).
Two generations of Danish filmmakers meet in this unique experience. Lars von
Trier suggests to veteran filmmaker Jorgen Leth that he remake his famous short
"The Perfect Human" (1967), proposing five different ways.
Program 8
The Prisoner of Iron Bars (Self-portraits), by Paulo Sacramento (Brazil, 123
min., 2003).
A year before shutting down the Carandiru House of Detention in São Paulo, some
18
prisoners learned to use video cameras. For seven months, they documented their
daily lives behind bars.
The Soul of the Bone, by Cao Guimarães (Brazil, 74 min., 2004).
Retiree Domingos Albino Ferreira has been living alone for 41 years in caves in
the interior of Minas Gerais State. Discovered some years ago by the press, he
slowly started to connect with people. The film portrays the daily routine of this
hermit.
Program 9
Why We Fight, by Eugene Jarecki (USA, 98 min., 2005).
With impeccable historical research, combined with up-to-date testimonials, the
director examines the extent of the influence of the military industry on the
modern-day scenario.
Five Broken Cameras, by Guy David and Emad Bornat (France, 90 min., 2011).
In 2005, the Israeli government built a wall in the middle of Bil‘in, a small town of
the West Bank. One of the residents of Bil‘in, the farmer Emad, buys a camera to
start a non-violent mobilization.
Program 10
Jasmine, by Alain Ughetto (France, 70 min., 2013).
In this very personal account, French animator and documentarian Alain Ughetto
uses several materials and media to retell his past romance with the Iranian
woman, Jasmine.
Tintin and I, by Anders Østergaard (Denmark, 74 min., 2004).
19
In 1971 cartoonist Hergé, the father of Tintin, agreed to be interviewed by fanzine
editor Numa Sadoul. Reusing the original audio, a multifaceted portrait of the artist
is composed.
WELLES, 100
Welles, 100 celebrates the centennial birth of the mythic north american director
with the screening of two of his primary documentaries: “It’s All True – Based on
an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles” (1993), by Bill Krohn, Myron Meisel and
Richard Wilson, is a documentary about the interrupted documentary that arised
from Welles’ unfinished work, and a restored version of “F for Fake” (1973),
about the most remarkable forger of 20th century paintings, Elmyr de Hory (19051976), on which Welles developed his filmic essay on genuine and fake, authorship
and art.
Chico Albuquerque (1917-2000) was a 25-year-old photographer from the state of
Ceará when he was given the opportunity, in 1942, to shoot the making of "It's All
True", the film that Citizen Kane’s lauded director, Orson Welles, had come to
shoot in Brazil. A photographic “making of” will be promoted by the festival in
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Also will be released a box set with 25 photos taken
during those shootings and selected by his son, Ricardo Albuquerque.
INFORMATIVE PROGRAMS
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy, by Stéphanie Valloatto (France, 106
min., 2014).
20
Soon after death sentence was cast against the author of a cartoon dealing with
Muhammad, the design of this film in defense of freedom of expression was born.
Twelve cartoonists from around the world give their testimonies and discuss their
working methods.
Citizenfour, by Laura Poitras (Germany/USA/United Kingdom, 114 min., 2015).
Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald met Edward Snowden in person, in
Hong Kong. Snowden was an ex CIA and the US National Security Agency (NSA)
contractor, who denounced the mechanisms of the agency's incredible global
espionage system.
Oscar for best feature-length documentary.
How to Smell a Rose: A Visit with Ricky Leacock in Normandy, by Les Blank
and Gina Leibrecht (USA, 64 min., 2014).
After the death of American filmmaker Les Blank and his fellow Brit Richard
Leacock, Blank’s partner assembled material and gave insight into this
extraordinary and warm exchange of information between these two outstanding
exponents of their art form.
From Caligari to Hitler, by Rüdiger Suchsland (Germany, 118 min., 2014).
Based on celebrated sociologist Siegfried Kracauer's seminal book 'From Caligari
to Hitler' (1947), the documentary discusses some of the book’s thesis, such as a
link between the apolitical and escapist orientation of Weimar-era cinema (19181933) and the totalitarianism which followed in German society. The film seeks to
explore the various angles of the Weimar cinema and interviews contemporary
filmmakers such as Fatih Akin and Volker Schlondörff.
On the Road With Socrates, by Niko Apel and Ludi Boeken (France, 86 min.,
2014).
21
In 2014 World Cup, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, former student leader and spokesman for
the Spring of 68 in Paris, sets out in a van throughout Brazil to explore and analyse
the impact of football in society as well as the relationship between football and
democracy.
Tribute to Robert Drew (1924-2014) – From Two Men and a War, by Robert
Drew (USA, 61 min., 2005).
American documentarist Robert Drew (1924-2014) recounts his experience as a
fighter pilot in World War II. With archival footage, photos and testimonials, the
filmmaker reconstructs Those Days and his dramatic on-foot escape.
Moana With Sound, by Robert J. Flaherty, Frances Hubbard Flaherty and Monica
Flaherty (USA, 98 min., 1926/1980/2014).
In 1923, Robert Flaherty chose the island of Savai'i as the setting for his new film
"Moana", depicting the local way of life. Fifty years later, Flaherty's daughter
Monica returned there to expound upon "Moana". In 2014, Monica's film was
digitally restored.
The Nation that Didn’t Wait for God, by Lucia Murat and Rodrigo Hinrichsen
(Brazil, 89 min., 2015).
Examining the present living conditions of the Kadiwéu people (native Brazilian
Indians) in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Lucia Murat shows the impact of the
arrival of electricity and television, and their conflicts with the white cattle
breeders who invaded part of their reservation.
World premiere
22
Night Will Fall, by André Singer (United Kingdom/USA/Denmark/Israel/
Germany, 75 min., 2014).
Never-before-seen images of German concentration camps just after World War II
constitute the core of this memorable documentary, which was discovered and
restored.
THE STATE OF THINGS
1989, by Anders Østergaard and Erzsébet
Rácz (Germany/Denmark/Hungary/Norway, 90 min., 2014).
The rise of Miklos Nemeth, a young and unknown technocrat, as Hungary's prime
minister in 1989, will cause unpredictable effects.
Loader 1118, by Eduardo Consonni and Rodrigo T. Marques (Brazil, 64 min.,
2014).
The film follows the daily life of Antonio da Silva, a long-serving freight loader at
CEAGESP, the Latin America's largest trading post. An immigrant from the
Northeast sector of Brazil, he moved to São Paulo in 1969 and has led a tough life
filled with economic and romantic unease throughout.
World premiere.
Drone, by Tonje Hessen Schei (Norway, 78 min., 2014).
For years, without the US remaining in a war with Pakistan, drones that were fired
from the Nevada desert caused heavy damage and deaths, including civilian
casualties. Director Tonje Hessen Schei drives the message home by bringing to
the forefront the discussion of the dilemma that technological development is faster
than international law.
23
This is my Land, by Tamara Erde (France, 93 min., 2014).
The Israeli-born filmmaker Tamara Erde visited six independent Israeli and
Palestinian schools to see what children are being taught.
Dream Rail, by Pedro von Krüger (Brazil, 91 min., 2014).
The 161-year-old Barão de Mauá station was the first railroad built in Brazil – but
little of it remains. And it’s not the only one. Thousands of abandoned train stations
throughout the country are a testimony to the decline of the rail network, once
dreamed up as a symbol of modernity, progress and integration.
World premiere.
Geraldinos, by Pedro Asbeg and Renato Martins (Brazil, 73 min., 2015).
Built in 1950 for the first World Cup held in Brazil, Maracanã has been the
mythical place of football-art for 60 years. Within its confines, the terraces were
the allocated space for the mob. Dedicated to the memory of these fans, the film
examines the changes implemented when the stadium was refurbished in 2010.
World premiere.
Jaci - Seven Sins of an Amazonian Work, by Caio Cavechini and Carlos Juliano
Barros (Brazil, 102 min., 2014).
The construction of the Jirau hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira river
attracted over 20,000 workers to the Brazilian state of Rondônia in 2009,
immensely impacting the small town of Jaci. In 2011, a riot brought what was the
largest public work in progress in Brazil to a stand still.
World premiere.
Premê - Almost Beautiful, by Alexandre Sorriso and Danilo Moraes (Brazil, 70
min., 2015).
With nearly 40 years on the road, Premeditando o Breque, or simply Premê, is one
of the São Paulo’s most persistent bands. Hits such as "Luísa", "Fi-lo porque qui-
24
lo” (“I did it because wanted it”) and “Lua-de-Mel in Cubatão” (“Honeymoon in
Cubatão") reemerge in this band’s memoir through a rich archival footage.
World premiere.
Nada’s Revolution, by Claudia Lisboa (Netherlands/Sweden, 60 min., 2014).
27-year-old Nada Ahmed is Egyptian and was among the thousands of young
people who went to Tahrir Square, in 2011, to call for freedom and justice. In a
country divided by the rigidity of tradition and the desire for modernity, Nada
decides that it is time to put her dream in motion - to do children's theater. Directed
by Brazilian filmmaker Claudia Lisboa, who is currently based in the Netherlands.
Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd, by Patricio Henriquez (Canada, 99 min.,
2014).
In October 2001, a group of Uyghurs, who had tried to find sanctuary in
Afghanistan, faced a new and unexpected misfortune. The local population was
being encouraged by the U.S. to report terrorists in exchange for cash. 22 Uyghur
men were delivered into the hands of the Americans in this way. The refugees were
transported to Guantanamo Bay, where they were imprisoned for 11 years, initially
without any form of judicial process.
The Term, by Pavel Kostomarov, Aleksandr Rastorguev and
Alexey Pivovarov (Estonia/Russia, 83 min., 2014).
After Putin’s presidential re-election in 2012, this fly-on-the-Kremlin-wall
documentary is about the rising opposition movement against Putin’s heavyhanded 16-year rule in Russia.
LATIN AMERICAN SHOWCASE
25
Invasion, by Abner Benaim (Panama/Argentina, 93 min., 2014).
A decade before the Panama Canal was definitely handed over to the Panamanian
government, the US military invaded the country in 1989. Twenty-five years later,
a sort of collective amnesia about the invasion hangs over Panama.
Return, by Juan Pablo Ríos (Colombia, 77 min., 2014).
45 years ago, the seven sisters of the Castaño family decided to leave their
hometown, Marulanda, a small Colombian mountain town. Now it’s time to return.
I’m Ringo, by José Luis Nacci (Argentina, 116 min., 2014).
Argentine boxer and legend Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena (1942-1976) had an
up and down life. Loud mouthed and provocateur, he even bullied Muhammad Ali
in their match in 1970, but was defeated in the final round. However, in Nevada,
years later, "Ringo" not only had his dreams shattered once again, but was also
killed in unclear circumstances.
Storm in the Andes, by Mikael Wiström (Peru/Sweden, 101 min., 2014).
Josefin grew up in Sweden with a family myth about how her Peruvian aunt
Augusta died struggling for the poor in Peru. Augusta La Torre created the maoist
guerilla Sendero Luminoso - Shining Path - together with her husband Abimael
Guzman. Josefin defies her family and travels to Peru to find out the truth. The
film reconstruct Peru’s internal war that lasted nearly twenty years and still
profoundly marks the country and its people.
26
SIDE EVENTS
IT’S ALL TRUE/BNDES SHOWCASE
2015 It's All True - 20th International Documentary Film Festival presents two
special film cycles. The first is a selection of six short and medium-length films by
awarded documentary filmmaker Vladimir Carvalho:
The Sugarcane Mill, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 11 min., 1968)
In the hinterland of Paraíba state, the rustic wooden sugarcane mills (bolandeiras)
are being gradually replaced by modern motor powered vehicles. The bolandeiras
produce honey and rock candy sugar (rapadura) and are operated by human and
animal traction. They are on their way out and so is a way of life.
Stone of Wealth, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 15 min., 1975)
A portrait of miners' living conditions in the Sabugi Valley in the state of Paraíba,
the film reveals a system of precarious work as told by the laborers, marked by the
absence of social assistance and the alienation of the workers vis-à-vis the meaning
and use of the raw material they extract, tungsten.
Pankararu from Brejo dos Padres, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 4 min., 1977)
Portrait of the indigenous community Pankararu, inhabitant of a reservoir of more
27
than 19,000 acres in the hinterlands of Pernambuco State. These natives are under
pressure from neighboring owners for their land.
Quilombo, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 24 min., 1975)
Less than an hour away from Brasilia, 800 people live in an ancient community
known as Arraial dos Pretos or Fazenda do Mesquita, whom are targeted by real
estate speculators.
The Pilgrims of Guia, by Vladimir Carvalho e João Ramiro Mello (Brazil,
16min., 1962)
The film follows the annual pilgrimage of fishermen and pilgrims to the ruins of
the old church of Nossa Senhora da Guia, in the northern coast of Paraíba State.
Vila Boa de Goyaz, by Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil, 19 min., 1974)
The history of the ancient capital of Goiás is retold by people’s memories, such as
poet Cora Coralina.
The second brings together five titles: three Brazilians and two International
feature films from the program The State of Things:
1989, by Anders Østergaard and Erzsébet
Rácz (Germany/Denmark/Hungary/Norway, 90 min., 2014).
The rise of Miklos Nemeth, a young and unknown technocrat, as Hungary's prime
minister in 1989, will cause unpredictable effects.
Dream Rail, by Pedro von Krüger (Brazil, 91 min., 2014).
The 161-year-old Barão de Mauá station was the first railroad built in Brazil – but
little of it remains. And it’s not the only one. Thousands of abandoned train stations
throughout the country are a testimony to the decline of the rail network, once
dreamed up as a symbol of modernity, progress and integration.
28
World premiere.
Geraldinos, by Pedro Asbeg and Renato Martins (Brazil, 73 min., 2015).
Built in 1950 for the first World Cup held in Brazil, Maracanã has been the
mythical place of football-art for 60 years. Within its confines, the terraces were
the allocated space for the mob. Dedicated to the memory of these fans, the film
examines the changes implemented when the stadium was refurbished in 2010.
World premiere.
Jaci - Seven Sins of an Amazonian Work, by Caio Cavechini and Carlos Juliano
Barros (Brazil, 102 min., 2014).
The construction of the Jirau hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira river
attracted over 20,000 workers to the Brazilian state of Rondônia in 2009,
immensely impacting the small town of Jaci. In 2011, a riot brought what was the
largest public work in progress in Brazil to a stand still.
World premiere.
Nada’s Revolution, by Claudia Lisboa (Netherlands/Sweden, 60 min., 2014).
27-year-old Nada Ahmed is Egyptian and was among the thousands of young
people who went to Tahrir Square, in 2011, to call for freedom and justice. In a
country divided by the rigidity of tradition and the desire for modernity, Nada
decides that it is time to put her dream in motion - to do children's theater. Directed
by Brazilian filmmaker Claudia Lisboa, who is currently based in the Netherlands.
PARTNERSHIP WITH SPCINE
29
Two initiatives mark the beginning of the partnership between It's All True and the
newly created SPCINE. Musical Documentaries at It's All True is a series of
twelve documentaries of the genre that have been premiered at the festival and will
be shown at Cine Olido. The festival is scheduled to itinerate in São Paulo
throughout the year, screening six of its films at city’s CEUs.
The titles of the cycle Musical Documentaries at It's All True are: “A Certain
Dorival Caymmi” (1999), by Aluísio Didier, “Samba Riachão” (2001), by Jorge
Alfredo, “Paulinho da Viola: My Time Is Today” (2003), by Izabel Jaguaribe,
“Maria Bethânia – Touchstone from Aruanda” (2006), by Andrucha Waddington,
“Close to Herbert” (2006), by Roberto Berliner and Pedro Bronz, “Wandering
Heart” (2008), by Fernando Grostein Andrade, “Simonal: You Don't Know How
Tough It Was” (2009), by Micael Langer, Calvito Leal and Cláudio Manoel, “A
Night in 67” (2010), by Renato Terra and Ricardo Calil, “Jorge Mautner – Child of
the Holocaust” (2011), by Pedro Bial and Heitor D’Alincourt, “Paulo Moura –
Brazilian Soul” (2013), by Eduardo Escorel, “A New Look at Sinfonia Paulistana”
(2013), by Rogério Zagallo, and “Dominguinhos” (2014), by Joaquim Castro,
Eduardo Nazarian and Mariana Aydar.
“IRACEMA” ON DVD
Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS) releases a new DVD edition of the classic
documentary "Iracema" (1975), by Jorge Bodansky and Orlando Senna, with new
extras directed by Bodanzky. The release takes place after the film projections in
São Paulo (Cinemateca Brasileira, April 15th) and Rio de Janeiro (IMS, April
19th).
INFORMATION
30
It's All True – 20th International Documentary Film Festival
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro from April 9th to 19th. Belo Horizonte from April
29th to May 4th, in Santos from May 7th-10th and in Brasília from May 27th to
June 1st.
Founder and director: Amir Labaki
It's All True – 20th International Documentary Film Festival is co-produced by
BNDES, OI, PETROBRAS, SABESP, CCBB, SPCINE and RIOFILME, with the
support of the Ministry of Culture - Audiovisual Secretariat / bill 8.313/91
(Rouanet Cultural Bill) and the State government of São Paulo – Cultural Action
Program (PROAC), Rio de Janeiro State government / Rio Department of Culture Rio’s Cultural Bill and São Paulo Department of Culture.
Free admission to all screenings.
MOVIE THEATERS
São Paulo (April 9-19)
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - R. Álvares Penteado, 112
Centro Cultural São Paulo - Rua Vergueiro, 1000
Cinemateca Brasileira (Brazilian Cinematheque) – Largo Senador Raul Cardoso,
207
Cine Livraria Cultura - Conjunto Nacional- Av. Paulista, 2073
Galeria Olido – Av. São João, 473
Reserva Cultural – Av. Paulista, 900
Rio de Janeiro (April 10-19)
31
Auditório BNDES - Avenida República do Chile, 100
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - R. Primeiro de Março, 66
Espaço Itaú de Cinema – Praia de Botafogo, 316
Instituto Moreira Salles - R. Marques de São Vicente, 476
Oi Futuro Ipanema - R. Visconde de Pirajá, 54
Belo Horizonte (April 29 - May 4)
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - Praça da Liberdade, 450
Santos (May 7-10)
Roxy Gonzaga – 5 – Av. Ana Costa, 443
Brasília (May 27 - June 1)
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – SCES, trecho 02, lote 22.
PRESS OFFICE
SÃO PAULO – Genco Assessoria
Karina Almeida
(11) 9 8556 5242
[email protected]
Beatriz Macruz
[email protected]
Johanna Leblanc
[email protected]
32
Paula C. Ferraz
[email protected]
RIO DE JANEIRO
Lilian Hargreaves
(21) 99136 0941
[email protected]
33