BITE THE MANGO FILM FESTIVAL 2007 (NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM)
KULTUR CINE CLUB SHOWCASES sponsored by |
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LATIN AMERICAN CINEMAS SHOWCASE
MORDENDO A MANGA: CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN CINEMAS BY KULTUR CINE CLUB
For approximately three centuries, Latin America was under Portuguese and Spanish colonial rule. The colonisation was constructed on pure exploitation terms without any social and economic development, mainly due to the subordination of the Iberian Peninsula within Europe itself. Colonies were open to exploitation by foreign capital, largely British, and indeed, there is a saying in Brazil that wisely sums up this situation: ‘the gold from Brazil built churches in Portugal, and fortunes in Britain’. After political independence, foreign capital modernised Latin America with the creation of telecommunication and industrial infrastructure. The debt accumulated impacted immensely on its ability to challenge the economic dependency.
The colonial system was allowed by the ideological premise of West superiority, which has impacted on the construction of a pure national identity. The western-educated elite became responsible for establishing the moral, ideological and philosophical traditions of Western civilisation within indigenous societies. Hundreds of years of colonisation and of importing traditions could not be simply forgotten in favour of traditional roots. Western values have been part of Latin American cultural identity, with artists repeating, reinterpreting and adapting their cultural forms to individual and social native conditions.
Latin American film industry has been historically dominated by foreigners. When cinema emerged in the continent, Europe had the early command, being overruled by the USA from World War I. The shift can be explained by Hollywood’s overwhelming accessibility and the internationalisation allowed by silent films; and by the US’s increasing involvement in the other new mediums of mass communication: newspapers, magazines and radio, and in the continent’s politics. Local filmmakers were unable to compete; a condition which will later instigate the creation of cinema theories of underdevelopment, such as Rocha’s theories of ‘aesthetic of hunger’, and Fernando Solanas e Octavio Getino’s proposal for a Third Cinema.
According to Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, one cannot talk about cinema without talking about American Cinema, which possibly represents the most agressive and widespread aspect of American culture American films account for nearly half of the films distributed in Latin America, dominating the largest proportion of local screen time. Foreign distributors (mainly Americans), the Motion Pictures Export Association (MPEA) and the US government, backed by the national exhibitors, have been the main culprits in ensuring that the sad situation of underdevelopment remains in Latin America cinema. The television sector often prefers to fill their screen time with Hollywood as well, seldom offering the film industry alternative circuit outlets and income revenue. Furthermore, the Multiplex revolution of the 1990s, permitted by the virtual destruction of the continent’s exhibition sector, has also helped to disseminate the 'American way-of-life' throughout the continent.
Government support has been necessary for the existence of a national industry. In Brazil for example, government support coupled with private investments has recently produced films such as Central Station, City of God, and Carandiru (Hector Babenco, 2003), which achieved huge commercial success nationally and internationally. Whereas Mexican filmmakers such as Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel and Amores Perros) have scooped a myriad of important prizes in recognised film festivals and events (e.g. Cannes Film Festival, Academy Awards and Golden Globes).
The programme will be divided into 2 strands: Brazilian Cinema and Mexican Cinema, as these countries are the major film producers within Latin America today.
Ana Cristina Santos
KULTUR: LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA SHOWCASE - PROGRAMME
BRAZIL |
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(2:45pm) PICTUREVILLE CINEMA |
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Mauro Shampoo: Footballer, Hairdresser and Macho (Mauro Shampoo: Jogador, Cabelereiro e Homem, Paulo Henrique Fontenelle & Leonardo Cunha Lima, Brasil, 2006) Short film will open for the Iranian film Football Iranian Style |
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(7:45pm) CUBBY BROCCOLI CINEMA |
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Maria Life (Vida Maria, Marcio Ramos, Brasil, 2006)
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Movies, Aspirins and Vultures (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus, Marcelo Gomes, Brasil, 2005)
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MEXICO |
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(8:00pm) CUBBY BROCCOLI CINEMA |
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Eden (Sergio Tovar Velarde, Mexico, 2007)
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El Cobrador: In God We Trust (El Cobrador, Paul Leduc, Mexico, 2006)
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Sponsored by LEEDS MET |
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For further information on Kultur's Iranian Cinema showcase please click here.
