This Thursday, April 3 sees the São Paulo launch of Brazil’s premier non-fiction event, It’s All True for its 19th edition, with Rio hosting its own opening event the following evening. The festival runs concurrently in both cities through Sunday, April 13, with touring programming reaching other cities later in the month and in July. In total, more than 74 films will screen, representing 26 countries. The following briefly highlights both competitions, and a few selections from the non-competitive programming strand:
Among the seven feature docs in the Brazilian Competition are Carlos Nader’s ORDINARY MAN (pictured), a portrait of a truck driver and his family made over two decades; Jorge Furtado’s THE STAPLES OF NEWS, an examination of the media and its political function; and Leonardo Dourado’s FOR A HANDFUL OF DOLLARS – THE NEW EMIGRANTS, a profile of three families directly affected by economic migration.
A dozen films are included in the International Competition, including Robert Kirchhoff’s NORMALIZATION (pictured), an investigation into a 1976 murder of a Slovakian student; Li Youjie’s ALAO’S VILLAGE, following the educated director back to his native peasant village; and Eva Knopf’s MAJUB’S JOURNEY, an exploration of the story of an African WWI colonial soldier who appeared in 1930s German cinema.
Finally, nine features are presented in the out of competition Special Programs section, including: Gonzalo Arijón’s BATTLE FOR RIO pictured), about the controversial and gentrifying police crackdowns taking place in Rio’s favelas; Pamela Yates’ DISRUPTION, following coordinated efforts to bring sustainable economic development to poor women in Colombia, Brazil, and Peru; and David Teboul’s BARDOT, THE MISUNDERSTOOD, an authorized biography on the legendary French actress, on the condition that she is not interviewed.
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