Jards

Brazil 2012, 93 min, English subtitles

This poetic essay on the seventy-year-old singer and composer Jards Macalé paints a portrait of an unusual kind. There are no talking heads in interviews. Rather, the film gives visual expression to the creative work of an artist who has performed with such greats as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Quality Brazilian singing and songwriting that has largely emancipated itself from Tropicalismo music – a cinematic jam session.

Best director, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, 2012