LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi) — The 5th edition of the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival (HBRFest), will be showcasing about 30 Los Angeles premieres showcasing fiction, documentaries and shorts of artistic merit, fresh from the international festival circuit.
The even takes place from July 31 through August 4, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. All screenings are free of charge, except Opening Gala and Closing Night.
Dedicated to addressing the cultural and commercial exchange between Hollywood, the world film industry and the Brazilian film community, HBRFest will feature Portugal as Guest Country and will also present a night of gay-themed films amongst its offerings of fresh discoveries.
The Opening Night Gala Film will be “While my Guitar Gently Weeps,” the international premiere of a modern family drama directed by acclaimed, award-winning Anna Muylaert (“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, “Collect Call”), heralded as a beacon of a new generation of Brazilian women filmmakers. Also screening will be the Los Angeles premiere of “The Package,” Rafael Aidar’s short film drama about the passion of two teenagers from São Paulo. “The Package” received its world premiere at the 2013 edition of the Berlinale.
The festival will close with the Los Angeles premiere of Muylaert’s debut award-winning comedy “Durval Records.”
“In our fifth year of the festival, we are thrilled to be presenting our very first world premiere in addition to some notable international premieres. We are also honored to be paying tribute to one of Brazil’s most prominent filmmakers, Anna Muylaert,” said Founder and Executive Director, Talize Sayegh.
Over a dozen guest filmmakers are expected to attend the festival to present their films including Juliana Rojas, (fresh off the Cannes’ Cinefondation Residence), Sergio Andrade, director of the very first feature entirely produced in the Amazon State, and the tireless Gabriel Mascaro who has two films in the festival.
All films screening in the fiction, documentaries and shorts sections are eligible to compete in HBRFest’s “IndieBrazil Competition.” Festival Jurors include HBRFest Guest of Honor Anna Muylaert, AFI Fest and Sundance Programmer Dilcia Barrera and respected festival programmer and former LACMA film curator Ian Birnie (Fiction); Monica Chuo, former Paramount Pictures VP of Worldwide Acquisitions and Co- Productions, Paul Malcolm, film programmer for the UCLA Film & Television Archives and filmmaker Helvecio Marins Jr., winner of last year’s HBRFest grand prix “Swirl” (Documentary); and Bernardo Rondeau, film curator at LACMA, producer Rafael Sampaio and respected Brazilian journalist Mariane Morisawa, (Shorts).
“HBRFest is delighted to host Portugal as our Guest Country featuring eight shorts by emerging Portuguese filmmakers, curated by Guest Artistic Director Dario Oliveira, director of Vila do Conde IFF,” states Artistic Director, Sandro Fiorin.
A highlight of the festival will include a gay themed night with screenings of Allan Ribeiro’s dance feature, “This Love That Consumes” in its international premiere and Marcelo Caetano’s short “By Your Side,” a high-spirited look at love in a modern Brazilian city, where relationships come and go.
Other festival highlights include the international premiere of Joel Pizzini’s “Mr. Sganzerla” about the iconic director Rogerio Sganzerla; the North American premieres of Felippe Schultz Mussel’s documentary “A Place to Take Away” on Rio’s famed favelas and Marcos Pimentel’s documentary “Breath” on the mysteries of life and death, in addition to André Novais Oliveira’s short “About a Month,” which received a Special Mention at the 2013 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and Leonardo Mouramateus’ “Mauro in Cayenne” which won Best Short in the influential Cinéma du Réel Festival.
West Coast premieres include Sérgio Andrade’s award-winning “Jonathas’ Forest,” set in the Amazon; Michael Wahrmann’s layered humorous debut “Avanti Popolo” starring the iconic Carlos Reichenbach which won Best Film at Rome IFF; Caetano Gotardo’s family drama “The Moving Creatures”; Daniel Aragão’s stylish debut feature “Good Luck, Sweetheart” that premiered at Locarno FF; “Housemaids” an intriguing documentary on Brazilian housemaids by Gabriel Mascaro which premiered at IDFA; Malu De Martino’s documentary “Margaret Mee and the Moonflower” about the famed British botanical illustrator and Isabel Penoni and Leonardo Sette’s magical and intriguing short, “Enraged Pigs” which premiered at Directors’ Fortnight as well.