In the 1970s, a collective of artists, journalists, filmmakers, and cultural agitators from Teresina transformed Super 8, then a domestic Kodak technology, into a language of avant garde cinema. Influenced by Tropicália, Brazilian cinema de invenção, Cinema Marginal Piauiense represents radical artists who had created films that challenged narrative codes and the repression of the dictatorship with freedom, humor, and critique.

Today this body of work is recognized as CINEMA MARGINAL PIAUIENSE, a symbol of an intense experience of experimentation, friendship, and rebellion that transformed the margins into a creative force.

In collaboration with Cinelimite. Special thanks to William Plotnick.

A DREAM IN PIAUÍ (Duration 102m)

The films of the Cinema Marginal Piauiense cycle are among the very first ever made in the state. Before the emergence of this group of filmmakers and artists, the idea of making cinema in Teresina was nothing more than a distant dream. The arrival of Super 8 cameras represented a true revolution, making not only filming but also the developing process much more accessible and democratic. With the support of Dr. Antônio Noronha in financing productions, the union of a group of rebels connected to counterculture and the arts, and the return in 1971 of the already famous Torquato Neto, poet, journalist, and Tropicalist lyricist, this dream began to turn into reality. Neto, whose presence brought legitimacy and inspiration to the movement, helped to drive this creative scene forward. Our opening session presents the pioneering works of this cycle. After the completion of O Terror da Vermelha (The Terror of Vermelha, 1972), many of the participants left Teresina in search of study and work, but the underground legacy remained and the seed of cinema had already been planted. This session traces that first moment of growth.

SATUDAY NOVEMBER 8 7:00PM – Post-Screening debate with Brazilian experimental film scholar, Patricia Morão.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 10 – 7:30PM
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20 – 10PM
MONDAY NOVEMBER 24 – 10PM

THE TERROR OF VERMELHA (O TERROR DA VERMELHA)

dir. Torquato Neto, 1972
Brazil, 24 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

AN AMERICAN DREAM (UM SONHO AMERICANO)
dir. Arnaldo Albuquerque, 1973
Brazil, 4 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

MOTHER’S HEART (CORAÇÃO MATERNO)
dir. Haroldo Barradas, 1974
Brazil, 15 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

MISS DORA
dir. Edmar Oliveira, 1974
Brazil, 18 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

FORJUSTNOW (PORENQUANTO)
dir. Carlos Galvão, 1973
Brazil, 15 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

TUPY NIQUIM
dir. Xico Prereira, 1974
Brazil, 17 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.

LANDFILL (ATERRO)
dir. Dogno Içaiano, 1979
Brazil, 9 min
In Portuguese with hardcoded English subtitles.