Brazil is Golden on the Silver Screen

What do a television loving, foul-mouthed zombie, a sword-wielding family

man, a suicidal filmmaker and a government corruption scandal all have in common? “Brazil On Screen,” the film-festival held on June 11 at the Cooperative Arts Humanities High School in New Haven, Connecticut that’s what! Films about all of those things and more were featured at the small but moving festival.

According to the festival program guide: “You will find that this year’s film program represents rich and diverse qualities of Brazilian culture and modern realities, by introducing themes of tradition, immigration, politics, sexuality, and Brazilian history. It is our hope you will take a little of Brazil home with you tonight!” And all in attendance did just that.

The festival traces its beginnings to an exchange of ideas between Brazilian and American film students at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (The University of São Paulo, Brazil), also known as the FAAP. Savana Vagueiro, the director of “Brazil on Screen,” and an FAAP alumna, said that Brazilian film students were interested in American films, and vice-versa.

“So we exchanged reels,” said Vagueiro with a casual shrug. And with that, the festival was born. Aside from Ms. Vagueiro, the festival is run by a committee of U.S. and Brazilian members who organize and set up the event.

“... [I]t is our mission to share Brazilian film with new audiences across the USA, in hopes to educate, inspire and exchange art and culture with each community we visit,” says Vagueiro in the program guide.

Boston was host to “Brazil on Screen” for two years prior, but this year, thanks to sponsorship by the New Haven Public School System’s Comprehensive Arts Program, the festival was able to move to the culturally thriving (and much more local) city of New Haven.

“This year, we have had the honor to work collaboratively with the students of Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School... They have diligently helped craft this evening’s film program by attending weekly selection committee meetings, (and) voting on and discussing over twenty film submissions received this year,” Vagueiro explained.

Robert Blocker was responsible for coordinating the festival with the Cooperative Arts Humanities

High School. When asked how the festival found its way to “Coop High School,” Blocker replied, “Nilda Morales, the supervisor of the Comprehensive Arts program approached me back in March, because she thought it would be a good opportunity for the students in our film program.”

The Coop High School film program consists of mostly juniors and seniors in the school’s visual arts program, and one of the students had a film featured in the festival. “We’re planning on putting on our own film-festival here,” said Blocker, speaking of sometime in the near future.

The festival grows in size and in scope every year, and ideally, it will grow in influence as well. So far, “Brazil on Screen” has made a splash on the East Coast, but hopefully sooner rather than later, it will be a nationally known (and loved) annual event.