Directed by Adirley Queirós (Brazil, 2014) 93min
Introduction by Professor Paulina Alberto (University of Michigan), featuring director Adirley Queirós.
An acclaimed documentary combining elements of reality and science fiction that zeroes in on the complex realities of race in Brazil. The film —centering on the working-class suburb of Ceilândia, outside the capital city of Brasília—, portrays a generation of black men that is metaphorically and literally amputated. On March 5, 1986, in a run-down disco on the outskirts of Brasília, a group of cops used a drug raid as an excuse to severely beat everyone present in the dive; all of those beaten were black. The policemen were heard shouting: 'White out, black in.' Marquim and Sartana, two victims of the event, remember that terrible day; the former lost a leg and the latter remains paralyzed. However, remembrance is not all they want.
Partially following the wishes of his protagonists, Adirley Queirós chooses to register the mysterious everyday life of these characters in the present instead of recreating their past while allowing them to stage a fantasy to exorcize this bygone event. (Adapted from International Film Festival Rotterdam)
Co-sponsored by: Brazil Initiative / Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies • LSA • International Institute • African Studies Center • Department of Afro-American and African Studies • Institute for the Humanities • Department of Romance Languages and Literatures • Sheldon Cohn Fund / Department of Screen Arts and Cultures • Center for European Studies.
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