Glauber Rocha: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is proud to present the films of Glauber Rocha, one of the most influential Brazilian filmmakers. Co-presented by Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles, the retrospective spans across his filmography to include his debut feature BARRAVENTO, his western trilogy ENTRANCED EARTH, the 4K restoration of BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL and ANTONIO DAS MORTES along with the rarely screened films THE AGE OF THE EARTH and THE LION HAS SEVEN HEADS.

Born in Bahia, Salvador, Glauber Rocha’s short but impactful career was dedicated to a revolution of not only Brazilian cinema, but the industry worldwide. Working with and alongside filmmakers such as Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Carlos Digues, Miguel Borges, Leon Hirszman, Marcos Farias and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Rocha formed part of the Cinema Novo movement which aimed to form a distinct tradition of Brazilian cinema focused on political and social issues.

At only 20 years old in his hometown of Bahia, Rocha made BARRAVENTO, his first feature film which tells the story a young man coming back to his fishing village to free them of their oppression, only to be faced with tragedy. The film features some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking images of the sea, with the camera acting as an eye to the world and documenting history as transformation.

Following up BARRAVENTO, Rocha’s western trilogy starts off with BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL, an unclassifiable tale of poverty, revenge and salvation nestled between artificial theatrics and meditative realism. Following the right-wing military coup in Brazil, LAND ENTRANCED, paints a portrait of a country in political disarray. The trilogy ends by beturning to the sertão with ANTONIO DAS MORTES, a western gunslinging retelling of Saint George and the Dragon. All three films screened at Cannes with BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL nominated for the Palme d’Or, LAND ENTRANCED being originally forbidden from exhibition but ultimately winning the FIPRESCI Award and ANTONIO DAS MORTES winning Best Director.

In his period of self-imposed exile following the coup, Rocha became disillusioned by political films and fondly remembered his Brazilian period films as “full of enthusiasm, faith and militancy and inspired by my great love of Brazil.” Following this period came THE LION HAS SEVEN HEADS, a French-Italian-Brazilian production focused on oppression and revolution in the Congo with Jean-Pierre Léaud as a preacher.

Among these hugely influential feature films, Rocha also made documentaries PALOMA, PALOMA, HISTORY OF BRAZIL and THE WEAPONS AND THE PEOPLE which covered personal history, Brazilian history and revolutions.

Returning to Brazil, one of his final films, THE AGE OF THE EARTH, created an experimental portrait of Brazil’s future with Rocha’s signature boundary-pushing, genre-less filmmaking that made him one of the most influential filmmakers in Brazilian cinema who constantly sought to redefine and revolutionize filmmaking.