Майя Плисецкая. Черно-белый лебедь (2010)

This summer, MUBI is excited to host a new series dedicated to the best of contemporary Brazilian cinema. Filmmaking in Brazil has undergone many disparate phases, from the French New Wave influenced Cinema Novo—a movement for whom film aesthetics were a political act—to the São Paulo-born underground cinemas of the late 1960s, and all the way through to more recent (Oscar favorites!) Central Station and City of God. In the wake of the country’s modern-day political turmoil, Brazil’s filmmakers have recently been producing strikingly poignant, urgent cinema. With the aim of reflecting the eclectic nature of this recent upsurge, our selection embraces both the world of fiction and of documentary, from up-and-coming voices as well as established masters. Whether through the hypnotic clash between the indigenous and urbanized world as portrayed in The Dead and the Others, the genre-twisting nature of Good Manners, or Landless’ intimate observations of local political activism, these are all works that demonstrate how bold and tactful world cinema can be, remaining conscious of its own past yet still forward-looking.