Léa Garcia

Assembling the largest cast of black actors ever seen in a Brazilian film, this first fiction feature film by acclaimed documentarian Araujo is a moving and complex story about redemption between sisters, mothers, and daughters. (Film Forum)

1960 Academy Award Winner and winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, Marcel Camus's Black Orpheus retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its magnificent color photography and lively soundtrack, this film brought the infectious bossa nova beat to the United States. (Criterion Collection)

Winner of the Best Film Award at the 2006 Montreal Film Festival, Carlos Diegues's intensely moving drama follows the personal odyssey of a 55-year-old man who returns to the Rio slums in an attempt to discover why his mother abandoned him at birth. (phillyfests.bside.com)

The life of a runaway slave who founded the Quilombo dos Palmares, an outlaw community of Brazilian slaves. (imdb)

Compasso de Espera focuses on a black poet and advertising agent named Jorge. He publishes books of poetry -- Compasso de Espera is the title of one of his collections -- with the help of his sponsor, a white millionaire. Jorge feels sorry for her, but also resents his financial dependence on her.

In a secluded Brazilian coastal village, where everything seems to stand still, Clarisse watches her life over the course of a day, unlike those around her who live that day just like any other. She tries to understand her obscure reality and the destiny of the people around her in a circling, disturbing sense of time (2011.festivaldorio.com.br)

The story revolves around a group of squatters who assaults a film crew during the carnival, and with the equipment stolen, decides to make a film on slum.

Poet Cruz e Souza was a black man, born in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, where the majority of the population are blonde. He was also poor and fell a prey to the racism of his time. Died young, at 37, and dragged the great love of his life, Gavíria, into a path of great suffering. (imdb)

Tired of the frenetic and futile way of life of big cities, a famous movie actress returns to the small town of Cataventos, her hometown, as a way to reconnect with her past lifestyle. However, as local politicians uncover her plans to spend a season in the city, they seek to capitalize on the star's presence in the region as much as possible, as a way to use her influence to defend their favorite causes. (adorocinema)

Seven women on motorcycles, through Via Dutra, go to the Baixada Fluminense, a microcosm of Brazil. Diving into the memory and questioning the behavior imposed on women, they seek to rescue the strength of the feminine. The new woman, born in the Brazilian land, incorporates the Amazons and Santa Guerreira. At his side, the new man, more loose and creative. Closing the cycle, the initial road is resumed.