Mimes, Monkeys, And The Ghost Of 'Fitzcarraldo': Inside Brazil's Amazonas Film Festival
There are no movie stars in Brazil. When a local comedy show asked people to list the most famous Brazilians, the top three were Gisele Bundchen, Pele, and Blanka — the green ogre from Street Fighter 2 who got his powers from the bite of an Amazonian electric eel. So far in 2012, not a single Brazilian-made movie has cracked the top ten in the country's own box office — in fact, to find a domestic hit, you have to go all the way down to the romantic comedy E Ai...Comeu?, which to date has made about half of as many reals as Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. [Ed. correction: The production Até que a Sorte nos Separe does rank as Brazil's #10 box office performer of 2012.] But Brazil does have soap stars. And at the Amazonas Film Festival in Manaus, Brazil — the heart of the Amazon — soap stars, dozens and dozens of them, all handsome and cheerful and thrilled by their own fame, were the main event.
That a film festival celebrates soap stars makes no sense, until it does. One of the major reasons for trekking these TV celebrities out to Manaus is to lure schoolchildren to attend the free festival where, between hooting hellos at their idols, they watch a movie, fall in love with film and kickstart the next generation of Brazilian cinema.
The second reason for the soap star deluge is to make the rest of the country pay attention to Manaus. Until very recently, the 2.2 million capital city of the Amazon was only accessible by plane and boat; most of the celebrities in attendance from the southern metropolises of Rio and Sao Paulo had never been there at all. It takes longer to drive from Rio to Manaus than it does to drive from Los Angeles to New York, and the cultural distance between the two is so vast that the TV actors kept insisting to us gringo journalists that Manaus wasn't even really Brazil, but more like how we think of Alaska.
But if Manaus has a lot to prove, they've also got the money to do it. In case you haven't heard: Brazil is rich. And Brazil sets aside .85% of the federal budget to support the arts, while the United States manages a meager .066% — and Mitt Romney still wanted to kill Big Bird. The 2012 Amazonas Film Festival was a lavish spare-no-expenses wonder: Every night one to two movies screened for attendees sitting in the velvet chairs of the Teatro Amazonas, an opera house built in 1896, and every day, the festival hosted trips to waterfalls and rainforests and palaces. One afternoon, everyone trekked to a nature reserve to celebrate as Elizabeth the sloth was rechristened a native name meaning "Beloved by Humans." There was a fireworks salute, the clinking of goblets filled with Coca-Cola and Guarana soda, and then the DJ spun "Jungle Boogie.” Meanwhile, a concession stand employee fed stray marmoset monkeys like they were pigeons. And unlike Sundance in Park City, Utah, the film festival isn't even the town's high point of the year: Manaus hosts a big cultural festival every month for rock, opera, folklore, carnival, jazz, theater, dance, pop music, and even Christmas, which this year will be produced by Disney and aired on national TV.
Americans have seen Manaus before, even if they don't realize it. The Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez masterpiece Anaconda claims to have been shot there, although none of the locals would admit it. (They should.) So few feature films have been shot in the region that when the fest played A Floresta De Jonathas (aka Jonathas' Forest — “Jonathas” is not a typo), a trippy slow burn about a teenager lost in the jungle, it was heralded as the first flick filmed there in 10 years. Film nerds can name a third flick from Manaus: Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, which opens with Klaus Kinksi and Claudia Cardinale leaping from a canoe to dash up the stairs of the grand old Teatro Amazonas, desperate to see Enrico Caruso. But most Brazilians haven't heard of that movie either, though if you believe a word Kinski wrote in his sex-mad autobiography All I Need is Love, he had to have left behind at least a half-dozen half-Brazilian children.
The Teatro Amazonas (pictured at top), where the seven-day film festival was held, looks almost the same as it did when Herzog filmed there in 1982, except for the mime dressed like Charlie Chaplin who stalked the red carpet each night and eagerly leaped in front of every camera. At the opening of the Amazonas Film Festival, the old marble walls — imported from Italy back when the rubber barons of Manaus made it the richest city in the world — buzzed with energy. We American journalists were given headsets that translated the introductory speeches from Portuguese to English, not that they helped us make any sense of the moment when a soap star named Igor, a dead-ringer for Benicio del Toro, stormed the stage uninvited and shouted something loosely paraphrased as, "Thanks for letting me have sex with my girlfriend under a waterfall!" to State Secretary of Culture Robério Braga. Then he pulled a pair of sheer black pantyhose over his head like he was about to rob a convenience store, and fled the stage to massive applause. Lost in translation, I suppose.
The opening night film, Colegas (Buddies) has been sweeping up awards in Brazil. It's comedy version of Natural Born Killers with a twist — the two gun-toting lovebirds on the run with their best friend all have Downs Syndrome. Plus, the trio, headed by de facto leader Stallone (whose parents named him after their favorite actor) were so bored at their institution for the mentally handicapped that they spent their days memorizing old Hollywood movies on VHS. It's a Brazilian movie about American movies — even the credits riff off old posters for Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Godfather. When girlfriend Aniha waves a pistol in a fancy Buenos Aires restaurant, she hollers, “Everybody be cool — this is a robbery!” and when she and Stallone snuggle up, he whispers, “Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson?” The inevitable Fox Searchlight remake will rake in millions, especially with the built-in controversy of a cast that's half-disabled. But there was no frisson of exploitation here, though when lead ingenue Rita Pokk literally lowered to her knees onstage to thank the director for allowing her to act, he hastily joined her on the ground.
Continued...
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Comments
This critic was never in Brazil! I'm crying with laughter so many blunders he wrote. Confusing Manaus to Parintins ... Manaus and say that! My God, how much ignorance and lack of knowledge of one of the world's largest economies.
Grande economia?. Já foi. E cada vez perde mais a credibilidade... ainda mais quando a mídia solta uma gafe dessas.
What a pity! First of all, try to study more, like a college. Second, try to translate this news to know the right side, dear "critic" not such prepared.
I can't help but rectifying some information in your article:
"So far in 2012, not a single Brazilian-made movie has cracked the top ten in the country's own box office—in fact, to find a domestic hit, you have to go all the way down to the romantic comedy E Ai...Comeu?, which to date has made about half of as many reals as Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked."
The Brazilian movie "Até Que a Sorte Nos Separe" apparently wasn't taken into consideration. And it's one of the highest-grossing films in the country this year.
"...the moment when a soap star named Igor, a dead-ringer for Benicio del Toro, stormed the stage uninvited and shouted something loosely paraphrased as, “Thanks for letting me have sex with my girlfriend under a waterfall!” to the Minister of Culture."
Actually, Igor Cotrim -- actor of the movie "Elvis e Madona" -- movie which won several awards, some of which: best script in Fest Rio 2011, popular vote in 2º Festival de Cinema Brasileiro in Paris, and the best movie in Festival de Cinema Gay e Lésbico de Oslo--, went to the stage in order to recite a poem written by him to the special guest of that night, the movie maker Zelito Viana. And there was no Minister of Culture there. The person on the stage was Robério Braga, State secretary of Culture.
I think Amy Nicholson knows no google, if searching would find names like Rodrigo Santoro, Sonia Braga, Marco Nanini, Selton Melo and many others who are successful even in Hollywood (that comes shoot in Brazil because it is cheaper)
1. Brazilian minister of Culture is a Woman
2. Praintins is 300km far from Manaus
3. The "soap star" Igor is actually actor from the movie Elvis & Madonna, winner of Rio Film Festval, Oslo LGBT Film Festival and Paris Brazilian Film Festval
4. "Até Que a Sorte Nos Separe" is currently in Brazil's Top10 movies
5. Brazil has no movie stars? Fernanda Montenegro (Academy Award Nominee, National Board of Review Winner, Berlin Winner), Marcela Cartaxo and Ana Beatriz Nogueira (Berlin Winners), Fernanda Torres and Sandra Corveloni (Cannes Winners)
and
6. WTF is Blanka?
(sorry, my english is not very good)
kkkkkk, é essa mulher veio mal uma vez aqui e fez um artigo medíocre! Eu moro em Manaus e nunca fui em Parintins, como ela pode dizer isso? kkkk pobre em informação.
Parintins is about 300km away from Manaus hahahahaha
If by saying "there are no stars in Brazil" you mean that there are no Stars because they don't actually reach U.S. movies, well, you might have to review you concept about movie-making as a whole.
Apparently, your knowledge about the subject doesn't reach far from the mainstream U.S. bullshit.
Before saying anything like that, you should visit other Brazilian festivals besides the very-far-from-anything Amazonas festival; Plus, make some research about Brazilian cinema and TV could do you some well.
Só brasileiros leram esta reportagem.
Você é uma puta ignorante!!! Seu texto é tão medíocre quanto você!
Cmon you guys!!!What were you expecting from someone whose interests are hot dogs (yyuuuuk) and standard poodles??!!!
But actually I do have a question, are u sure you've been in Brazil? Cause as far as i know Manaus is about 150 miles from Parintins. Go get a map,hon!
Concordo 🙂
Tenho pena dessa "escritora", é uma imbecil!
You sure have weird way to complement festivals, ingot really surprised when you said the amazon festival was a must! When I started to read this, I actually felt offended (I'm brazillian).
I don't think I need to say anything more, my fellow compatriots already took care of that.
poor Americans ... do not know the world beyond their borders!
Your country is going bankrupt, meanwhile the Brazil is developing!
Amy Nicholson, shame on you.
Ha ha ha!! You have great actors...Silvester Stallone, Arnold whatever, Chuck Norris, Jason Statan...and many others more, that, by the way, are becoming older and older, but the makeup is working fine...if you take out the guns and american jokes from them, they disappear. You really don´t know nothing about Brazil...but your president, Mr. Obama, knows. He is begging for our poor visitors to give you the money that will get you out of the big hole you are entering in, so you´ll can continue making movies that show how "powerfull" you are. Get out of here and get back to your country...have a doughnut and relax...
I've never seen such a wide range of ignorance all displayed at once. This supposed critic must have never been to Brazil. What she writes isn't serious and she only reaffirms the narrow-mindedness average Americans have. This "critic" and her "article" are way below any criticism. Sorry for her and for this website for allowing such a shallow comedian to take part of this circus.
Amy Nicholson, I know you've never been to Brazil. I invite you to visit our country, I'm sure you're going to love it!
Could Amy explain what kind fo humor she was trying to do here?
The lazy, half-assed, error-filled nature of this critic's review definitely brings her credibility into question and - worse - reinforces to Brazilians the stereotype of the narrow-minded, ignorant and full of themselves American. I'm an American living in Manaus and know this festival well - I even attended the opening night. There are major factual errors in this critic's review. If anything, they make it hard to concentrate on any valid criticisms. Way to go, Amy.
Good!
Among the errors: The festival is called Boi Bumba and takes place in Parintins - 300km from Manaus. Her description of it is also wildly off-base. Disney is not producing a Christmas show in Manaus. The Secretariat of Culture is, and they hired independent creative consultants who had formerly worked for Disney, among other entertainment entities. Brazilian movies have cracked the Top 10. There are major Brazilian movie stars. The list goes on... It makes you wonder if this critic even really likes or gets cinema (or people, for that matter).
good job!!!
Verdade 🙂
Agradeça a UOL por fazer uma minima propaganda gratuita da sua falta de informação. Se não fosse isso, sequer haveriam comentários nessa critica...rsrs
Sinceramente... "Não devemos ampliar a voz dois imbecis" (Nelson Rodrigues). Brasileiríssimo!!!
I guess you do have some study to do, honey.
Try reading this: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/1199832-site-dos-eua-diz-que-brasil-nao-tem-estrelas-de-cinema-e-compara-manaus-ao-alasca.shtml
After translating, of course (because surely you just know English and that's all) you may be able to understand better all the nonsense you wrote.
Perhaps later you get to be an ok critic... Let's all hope.
Although, I have a question. How come you get a voice in here when you are not prepared at all?
Who's Amy Nicholson? Would be Jack Nicholson's daughter? Or Amy Winehouse's mother? lol
Amy you are such a bitch who don't know a word about brazil!!! You should be shamed with all those lies you've talked about the country who has been giving money to your country for a long time!!! You have to be pleased to be invited to here because i dare that u dont have a fuckin penny to pay a trip to here!!!
This lady pseudo-journalist, does not know how vigorous is our SOAP OPERA, which in America they have no Idea how to produce one with our international quality. That is why they are all invited to Amazon Film Festival. Mrs Nicholson As Invitation ofThe Amazon People, she should at list have The courtesy of a real research about our culture and state. She is from now on a PERSONA NON GRATA here my wonderful and envy country.
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