Amazônia - Vanishing Habitat?

With the directors Sérgio Andrade, Luiz Bolognesi, Silvio Da-Rin, Joel Zito Araújo, Peter W. Schulze and Victor Lopes, Moderation: Ilda Santiago, head of Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival

The gigantic rainforest of the Amazon basin still embodies the myth of the primitive and the exotic, of pristine nature. It is thought of as the planet’s green lung, a great reservoir of unique biodiversity, and the last refuge of indigenous culture. This picture is countered by the reality of the rapidly advancing destruction. Legal and illegal deforestation on a vast scale and dam projects like the Belo Monte on the Rio Xingu pose a long-term threat to the entire region. While the massive economic interests of the agricultural, timber, and energy industries continue to dominate, they are now also provoking fierce debate and political initiatives in Brazil. How are filmmakers positioning themselves on these issues? What exactly motivates them? What is the purpose of the images they are creating?

In Portuguese with German translation

Participants

Sérgio Andrade (*1967 in Manaus) has worked for years as a producer on various international film projects and headed the Amazonas Film Commission. Since 2008 he has additionally worked as a director, primarily of short films. His full-length debut, A floresta de Jonathas—Jonathas’ Forest, won the Brazilian culture ministry’s promotional program for low-budget productions, and subsequently appeared at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam as well as the Talent Campus of the Berlin International Film Festival.

Luiz Bolognesi (*1966 in São Paulo) studied journalism and social sciences in São Paulo. He is an award-winning screenplay writer and cofounder of the film production company Buriti Filmes. His major screenplay successes include Chega de saudade—The Ballroom and Bicho de sete cabeças— Brainstorm. For Uma história de amor e fúria—Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury (2012) he wrote the screenplay and directed the film.

Silvio Da-Rin (*1949 in Rio de Janeiro) studied visual communication in Rio de Janeiro, has worked as a sound technician on over 150 films, and has directed numerous documentary films. His documentary A igreja da libertação won honors at the DOK Leipzig Film Festival in 1985. Da-Rin entered Paralelo 10–10th Parallel in Mexico City’s International Documentary Film Festival in 2012. He was Secretary for Audiovisual Media in the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and, until 2012, an executive at TV Brasil.

Victor Lopes (* in Mozambique) is a filmmaker, screenplay writer, and teacher. In 2003 his film Bala perdida—Stray Bullet garnered 20 national and international prizes, more than any other Brazilian short film ever. In 2012 almost one million Brazilian cinema-goers saw his feature film As aventuras de Agamenon, o repórter. Lopes’s documentary Serra Pelada —A lenda da montanha de ouro—The Legend of the Mountain of Gold took the grand prize at the 2013 FICA (International Environmental Movie and Video Festival, Goiás, Brazil).

Ilda Santiago directs the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. She is a cofounder of Estação, Brazil’s leading arthouse film distribution company.

Joel Zito Araújo (*1954 in Nanuque, Minas Gerais) holds a doctorate in communications and is a director, screenplay writer, and producer for film and television. His documentary films investigate politically charged issues in Brazilian society, such as inequality and racism. In 2001 he won the award for the best documentary at the É Tudo Verdade Festival with A negação do Brasil—Denying Brazil. His first feature film, Filhas do vento—Daughters of the Wind, was honored with six awards at the 2004 Gramado Film Festival. Araújo’s latest film, Raça—Race, has been shown at Africa’s leading film festival, FESPACO, as well as other festivals.