Editoriais

“Festival” is the name of the artwork by Michelangelo Antonioni serving as illustration for the 47th Mostra’s poster. The Italian master’s colors and shapes pave the way for the diverse stories presented in the 362 films from 96 countries.

In addition to the retrospective of his work, Antonioni will be celebrated in a reading of Technically Sweet, a project based on a script by the director, that will one day become an Italian-Brazilian production, and which Mostra’s audience will have the privilege of knowing in its very early stages. Director and producer Enrica Fico Antonioni will be in São Paulo to attend the retrospective and talk to the audience about the project and all of Antonioni’s work.

It is no surprise that the poet of incommunicability and alienation, as many call Antonioni, remains relevant today, in the era of ultra-connectivity.

But unlike the speed provided by internet networks, cinema gives us time to reflect, transforming numbers into people and showing us that the inhabitants of a given place cannot be equated with its terrible leaders or dictators.

“Underground” (1995), an emblematic film on the absurdity of war, will be introduced by Emir Kusturica himself, who returns to São Paulo to join Mostra’s Jury and to be awarded the Leon Cakoff Prize.

The history of cinema continues to be cherished as Mostra presents restored copies of Jacques Rivette’s “Mad Love” (1969), Manoel de Oliveira’s “Abraham’s Valley” (1993), Man Ray’s “Return to Reason” (1923), Rosemberg Cariry’s “Corisco e Dadá” (1996), Pedro Costa’s “Blood” (1989), as well as Hector Babenco’s “Carandiru” (2003). We will also screen restored copies of project Nitrato and films by Lévi-Strauss produced in Brazil, courtesy of the Brazilian Cinematheque.

Lenny Abrahamson, also a member of Mostra’s Jury alongside Kusturica, will introduce three screenings of his work: “Adam & Paul” (2004), “Garage” (2007) and “What Richard Did” (2012). The Jury is then beautifully completed by Bárbara Paz, Enrica Fico Antonioni, Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Welket Bungué.

Júlio Bressane will present his two latest efforts and also be awarded the Leon Cakoff Prize. Two documentary filmmakers are the recipients of this year’s Humanity Award: Errol Morris, who will have his film “The Pigeon Tunnel” in the Mostra’s program, and Sylvain George, who is coming to São Paulo to accept the award and introduce the retrospective of his work.

As expected, Mostra offers much awaited titles from renowned directors such as Aki Kaurismäki, Bertrand Bonello, Wim Wenders, Hong Sang-soo, Víctor Erice, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and many other masters. Films recently arrived and awarded at the festivals circuit are also part of the program, such as Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall”, winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes, and Nicolas Philibert’s “On the Adamant”, winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. These, and many other discoveries that will surprise our audience with new perspectives.

For the third consecutive year, we’ll hold the Audiovisual Ideas Market, which will include the VII Fórum Mostra, the VII Da Palavra à Imagem (From Word to Image) and the II Mesas de Mercado (Market Panels), making it clear that Mostra is not only an event dedicated to watching movies, but also to reflecting on and discussing the audiovisual and creative industries.

For the first time, Mostra brings part of this year’s selection to the North of Brazil, in a partnership with Centro Cultural Ideias (CCCI), in Manaus. Our customary partnership with Sesc also lives on, with a selection of movies traveling around ten cities in the countryside of the state of São Paulo.

In addition to Mostra’s traditional awards, two new ones will be presented, offered by partners of Brazilian cinema: the Paradiso Award, in support of the theatrical distribution of films, and the Netflix Award, focused on global
acquisition for the platform.

All this thanks to our partners and the Mostra team, who lives and breathes for our drop in the bucket of world cinema. We hope it can bring relief in these difficult times, and enrich our communication.

May everyone have a great Mostra!
Renata de Almeida