A Brazilian Film Festival: Porquê?

Ramon Stern, program coordinator of the Brazil Initiative, talks about CineBrasil 2014, a film festival that  takes place this Wednesday through Friday, October 15-17.

October 14, 2014

Ramon Stern, program coordinator of the Brazil Initiative, talks about CineBrasil 2014, a film festival that takes place this Wednesday through Friday, October 15-17.

Q. What was the motivation behind organizing this film festival?

CineBrasil 2014 is the revival of a festival by the same name that took place in 2008. The Brazil Initiative is making this a yearly occurrence. It’s a chance to showcase some of the best films to come out of Brazil in recent years. The arts have a wide appeal, and provide great way of exploring of this complex and diverse country. We wanted to reach out the Brown campus and the wider community and put on a very exciting display of Brazilian cinema and culture.

Q. What were your criteria in curating the festival?

 For the selection of films, I worked with a larger committee knowledgeable on Brazilian cinema. I put together the final program, adding a film or two to those suggested and submitting to the committee for approval. One of the key points I discovered in the process, however, was that it’s important the genres diverse and friendly to many audiences. We did not want to leave out families with children or fans of genres other than drama, so in addition to dramatic feature films, we included an award-winning animated film and a comedy.

 Q. Why is this film festival important?

The arts of Brazil are one of the greatest ways to educate people about Brazil’s diversity without really needing to provide too much background and analysis. The medium of film communicates through powerful visuals, themes, and characters that no academic lecture or seminar can capture in the exact same way. An enthralling film is a unique educational tool. This is why we feel it is important to include films in addition to other more academic programming, so that people can connect with Brazil emotionally and creatively.

 For complete information about CineBrasil 2014, visit watson.brown.edu/events.