From 1 May to 30 June, Brazil on Film presents over 40 titles spanning nearly a century of filmmaking — from early masterpieces such as Limite (1931) to bold contemporary voices shaping Brazil today. The programme highlights landmark movements including Cinema Novo, the Retomada of the 1990s, and a new generation of filmmakers, bringing together restored classics, award-winning works and rediscovered gems.
Curated by Renata de Almeida and Adriana Rouanet, the season features screenings of seminal works such as Glauber Rocha’s Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, Eduardo Coutinho’s Cabra Marcado para Morrer, and Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God. Recent productions including Gabriel Martins’ Mars One and Marianna Brennand’s Manas also form part of the selection. The programme foregrounds Indigenous and Amazonian perspectives, while paying tribute to Héctor Babenco with screenings of Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Highlights include early works by acclaimed contemporary directors such as Walter Salles and Kleber Mendonça Filho, alongside films from emerging voices including Dolores (Maria Clara Escobar and Marcelo Gomes, 2025), The Day I Met You (2023) and The Nature of Invisible Things (2025). Major films from the Retomada era, such as Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil (1995), are presented together with internationally successful titles like City of God (2002).
The comprehensive showcase at BFI Southbank — complemented by screenings, talks and special events — traces a cinema defined by reinvention and resistance, celebrating the richness, diversity and global impact of Brazilian filmmaking.
From 1 May to 30 June, Brazil on Film presents over 40 titles spanning nearly a century of filmmaking — from early masterpieces such as Limite (1931) to bold contemporary voices shaping Brazil today. The programme highlights landmark movements including Cinema Novo, the Retomada of the 1990s, and a new generation of filmmakers, bringing together restored classics, award-winning works and rediscovered gems.
Curated by Renata de Almeida and Adriana Rouanet, the season features screenings of seminal works such as Glauber Rocha’s Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, Eduardo Coutinho’s Cabra Marcado para Morrer, and Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God. Recent productions including Gabriel Martins’ Mars One and Marianna Brennand’s Manas also form part of the selection. The programme foregrounds Indigenous and Amazonian perspectives, while paying tribute to Héctor Babenco with screenings of Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Highlights include early works by acclaimed contemporary directors such as Walter Salles and Kleber Mendonça Filho, alongside films from emerging voices including Dolores (Maria Clara Escobar and Marcelo Gomes, 2025), The Day I Met You (2023) and The Nature of Invisible Things (2025). Major films from the Retomada era, such as Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil (1995), are presented together with internationally successful titles like City of God (2002).
The comprehensive showcase at BFI Southbank — complemented by screenings, talks and special events — traces a cinema defined by reinvention and resistance, celebrating the richness, diversity and global impact of Brazilian filmmaking.
Programme Highlights – Brazil on Film
- 1 May We Are Also Brothers, directed by José Carlos Burle
Intro by Dr Felipe Botelho Correa, King’s College London
- 9 May At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, directed by José Mojica Marins
Intro by Dr Bruna Foletto Lucas, University of Hertfordshire
- 11 May Manas, directed by Marianna Brennand
Intro by season co-curator Renata de Almeida
- 11 May Lower City, directed by Sérgio Machado
Intro by season co-curator Renata de Almeida
- 12 May Foreign Land, directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas
Q&A with co-director Daniela Thomas
- 15 May Mars One, directed by Gabriel Martins
Intro by Marta Calderón Quiñones, Cinema Mentiré
- 23 May Bye Bye Brazil, directed by Carlos Diegues
Intro by Dr Antonio da Silva, University of Essex
- 2 June Saint Bernard, directed by Leon Hirszman
Intro by season co-curator Adriana Rouanet
- 6 June White House, directed by Luciano Vidigal
Q&A with director Luciano Vidigal
- 10 June Barren Lives, directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos
Intro by Dr Tiago de Luca, University of Warwick
- 11 June Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures, directed by Marcelo Gomes
Intro by season co-curator Adriana Rouanet
- 16 June The Second Mother, directed by Anna Muylaert
Intro by Cine Brazil
- 18 June The Woman of Everyone, directed by Rogério Sganzerla
Intro by Natalia Christofoletti Barrenha, Cinema Mentiré
- 18 June Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, directed by Bruno Barreto
Intro by Natali Juste Simmonds, London Latino Film Festival
- 21 June Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco, directed by Héctor Babenco
Intro by director Bárbara Paz
- 21 June Babenco: Tell Me When I Die, directed by Bárbara Paz
Q&A with director Bárbara Paz
- 25 June Iracema: Uma Transa Amazônica, directed by Jorge Bodanzky and Orlando Senna
Discussion presented by People’s Palace Projects
- 27 June The Father and the Shaman, directed by Lawaretê Kaiabi, Felipe Tomazelli, Luís Villaça; UK Premiere: Replikka, directed by Piratá Waurá and Heloisa Passos
Q&A with Felipe Tomazelli and Yula Rocha