Brazil’s official entry for Oscars 2020 Best Foreign Film, the Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão, will open the 11th annual Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival on Friday, November 15th. Directed by Karim Aïnouz and Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (Ad Astra, Call Me By Your Name), the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won the coveted Un Certain Regard Award.
The annual festival will run from November 15 to 19 at the Skirball Culture Central in Los Angeles and Los Feliz Theater at 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Some of the feature films that will be showing at the festival include Mariguella (The directorial debut from Wagner Moura (Netflix’s Narcos); Bacurau (Directed by Kléber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles,co-presented at AFI Fest); the short film The Orphan, directed by Carolina Markowicz.
The honorees this year include Rodrigo Teixeira (Ad Astra, Call Me By Your Name) and Alice Braga (Queen of the South).
FEATURES
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão directed by Karim Aïnouz (Opening Night)
Premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Un Certain Regard. The film stars Oscar-nominated Fernanda Montenegro, a dame from the Brazilian cinema, now 90 years old.
Mariguella directed by Wagner Moura
Wagner Moura is a well-known Brazilian actor, making his directorial debut. He starred in the internationally acclaimed Brazilian film Elite Squad and on international projects such as Netflix’s Narcos, playing Pablo Escobar. The film is a period piece about the military dictatorship in Brazil in the 60’s. It starts singer/actor Seu Jorge (City of God, The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou) as the title character Marighela.
Bacurau directed by Kléber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles (co-presented at AFI Fest)
Premiered at the main competition in Cannes earlier this year and won the Jury Prize. The festival has also presented Kléber’s previous film, Aquarius, in a previous year of the festival. The film is also overtly political and against the current government. It stars Sonia Braga, Bárbara Colen and legendary German actor Udo Kier.
Turma da Mônica: Laços (transl. Monica’s Gang: Bonds) is a 2019 Brazilian family adventure film produced by Estúdios Mauricio de Sousa, directed by Daniel Rezende, with screenplay written by Thiago Dottori, and starring Giulia Benitte, Kevin Vechiatto, Laura Rauseo and Gabriel Moreira. The film was based on the eponymous graphic novel by Vitor and Lu Cafaggi and the series of homonymous comic books created by Maurício de Sousa.
SHORTS
The Orphan directed by Carolina Markowicz
Premiered at the Director’s fortnight in Cannes last year, where it won the Queer Palm. It has played in over 100 festivals around the world and picked up several other awards, including the top prize at Hollyshorts last month, which qualified it for the Academy Awards. The producers are working with a PR company on an Oscar campaign.