The Embassy of Brazil in Beirut and Guimarães Rosa Institute - Beirut (Brasiliban), in collaboration with Metropolis Association, have the pleasure to present the 6 th Brazilian Film Festival, set to take place between July 10 and July 14, 2023 at Caracalla Dance Theatre, Horsh Tabet, Beirut, and on July 20 and 21, 2023 at Ishbilia Theatre, Saida. 

The sessions are going to be held free of charge, as part of the effort of the Embassy of Brazil to provide high quality and accessible culture options to the Lebanese audience. In addition, 2 sessions will be held for the second time at Ishbilia Theatre in Saida, reaching out to the audience outside of Beirut.

The festival features a selection of some of the most acclaimed Brazilian film productions from recent years, covering different genres and portraying different aspects of Brazilian society, history, and politics. It also includes two animations, and a special session in homage to Pelé, the Greatest Athlete of the 20th century, who left us last year. The festival will open with the film Mars One (‘Marte Um’) (Drama, 2022, by Gabriel Martins), which was Brazil's official Oscars 2023 submission for Best International Feature Film.

The film portrays the Martins family, optimistic dreamers who quietly lead their lives on the margins of a major Brazilian city following the disappointing election of a far-right extremist president. A lower-middle-class Black family, they feel the strain of their new reality as the political dust settles. Tércia, the mother, reinterprets her world after an unexpected encounter leaves her wondering if she’s cursed. Her husband, Wellington, puts all of his hopes into the soccer career of their son, Deivinho, who reluctantly follows his father’s ambitions despite secretly aspiring to study astrophysics and colonize Mars. Meanwhile, their older daughter, Eunice, falls in love with a freespirited young woman and ponders whether it’s time to leave home. (Rating +18) 

The other feature films will be:

 Fogaréu (Drama/Fantasy, 2022, by Flávia Neves) - On the frontier between the real and the fantastic, the colonial times and the overwhelming modernity of agribusiness, the town of Goiás is the stage where the young Fernanda is faced with secrets about her past. Following the death of her foster mother, she goes back to her wealthy uncle's house to implode certainties and let the painful truth about her origins surface.

Pixinguinha, an Affectionate Man (‘Pixinguinha, Um Homem Carinhoso’) (Biography/Music, 2021, by Denise Saraceni and Allan Fiterman) - A fiction feature film about the life and work of Alfredo da Rocha Vianna Filho (1897-1973), Pixinguinha, the father of Brazilian popular music. A misunderstood genius far ahead of his time, his importance was only recognized many years later.

Perlimps (Animation, 2022, by Alê Abreu) - Claé and Bruô are secret agents from enemy Kingdoms sent in a world controlled by Giants that is in the imminence of a terrible war. They must overcome their differences and combine forces to find the Perlimps, mysterious creatures who can ultimately find a way to peace.

Corral (‘Curral’) (Drama, 2020, by Marcelo Brennand) - Corral is a political drama set in the rural Brazilian city of Gravatá. During the mayoral elections, the population is divided between the Blue and Red parties, two political oligarchies fighting each other for power. A recent severe draught means water is the main bargaining chip when it comes to securing a majority of people’s votes.

Pelé: Birth of a Legend (Biography, 2016, by Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist) – The film tells the miraculous story of the legendary soccer player’s rise to glory from a young boy, to the 17 year old who scored the winning goal in Brazil’s first ever World Cup victory in 1958. From a life full of disadvantages and an impoverished youth in Brazil, Pelé used his unorthodox yet authentic style of play and his unbeatable spirit to overcome all odds, find greatness and inspire a country that he changed forever.

Charcoal (‘Carvão’) (Dark Satire/Drama/Thriller, 2022, by Carolina Markowicz) - Brazil, 2022. In a remote area in São Paulo’s countryside, a rural family who lives beside a charcoal factory accepts a proposal to host a mysterious foreigner. The home soon becomes a hideout as the so-called guest happens to be a highly wanted drug lord. The mother, her husband and child will have to learn how to share the same roof with this stranger, while keeping up appearances of an unchanged peasant routine. (Rating +18)

The Boy and the World (‘O Menino e o Mundo’) (Animation, 2013, by Alê Abreu) - Suffering from the lack of the father, a boy leaves his village and discovers a fantastic world dominated by animal-machines and strange beings. An extraordinary animation with many artistic techniques, portraying the issues of the modern world through the eyes of a child.