Part of Uchronias and Dystopian Futures: Latin American Science Fiction Cinema of the 21st Century
Sunday, June 23, 2019, 6:30 p.m.
Museum of the Moving Image - Bartos Screening Room

Dir. Adirley Queirós. Brazil. 2014,90 mins. In Portuguese with English subtitles. With Marquim do Tropa, Dilmar Durães. 

The director of this science fiction docudrama pursues a new way of making cinema, as the film is set in and features residents of Ceilândia, a satellite city established by the Brazilian government to prevent the poor from settling in the capital of Brasília. Members of this primarily Afro-descendant community not only play versions of themselves on screen, but they determine their own narratives and take aesthetic inspiration from their environment to create a fascinating future. The story follows two middle-aged friends who build prosthetic limbs after an unjust assault by the police in 1986 leaves them both physically disabled. Focusing on the experiences of these two men and their community, the film shows that new futures can be created in a landscape of hardship. A parallel storyline shows an investigator from the year 2073, being summoned by a time travel machine to collective evidence against the state for their crimes and derail an event that will change the country forever. The traveler pursues social justice by following these two men who have been crippled by state-backed violence.

El director de este docudrama plantea una nueva manera de hacer cine, a partir de basar el filme en los residentes de Ceilandia, un satélite creado por el gobierno de Brasil para prevenir que los pobres habiten la ciudad capital, Brasilia. Los miembros de esta comunidad afrodescendiente, no sólo actúan versiones de ellos mismos en pantalla, sino determinan sus propias narrativas y se inspiran en el ambiente para crear un fascinante futuro. La historia sigue a dos amigos de mediana edad quienes usan piernas de prótesis luego de quedar discapacitados al ser injustamente asaltados por la policía en 1986. Basándose en la experiencia de estos dos hombres de la comunidad, el filme muestra que nuevos futuros pueden ser creados a pesar de vivir en un paisaje de penurias. Una historia paralela muestra a un investigador del año 2073, secuestrado por una máquina del tiempo para coleccionar evidencias de crímenes perpetrados por el estado, desencadenando en un suceso que cambiará la historia del país para siempre. El viajero busca justicia social, siguiendo a estos dos hombres que han sido paralizados por esta violencia apoyada por el propio estado.

Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online.(Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

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