Cláudio Kahns

Images of the Estado Novo 1937-45

Resorting on a vast archive material of newsreels, photographs, letters, family videos, fiction movies, diary and popular songs excerpts, the documentary reassesses the legacy of the dictatorial period of Getúlio Vargas (1937-1945). Through the comparison and analysis of these heterogeneous records, produced for different purposes, from political propaganda to family celebration, the film explores the several layers of the political web of the Estado Novo, exposing its external inspirational sources, functionality and contradictions.

35 - O Assalto ao Poder

Documentary about the frustrated insurrection of 1935 that resulted in the consolidation of the absolutist government of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil (1930-1945).

Vassourinha: The Voice and The Void

Experimental documentary about the life and work of obscure samba musician Vassourinha (1923-1942), born in São Paulo, who only recorded six 78rpm records, dying at 19.

How Angels are Born

Two children flee together with a grown up from a slum in Rio because this man had problems with the local drug lord. They end up in the house where a rich American citizen lives with his daughter.

The Jew

The story of Brazilian Antônio José da Silva, a jewish poet, playwright and lawyer living in the 18th Century Lisbon, who managed to avoid Inquisition by converting himself to Catholicism, after being tortured. But his fierce criticism of Portugal's élite led him to persecution and torture, becoming kind of a scapegoat.

ABC of a Strike

ABC of a Strike captures the 1979 metal workers strikes outside of São Paulo. The footage sat untouched until after the death of highly-regarded director Leon Hirszman in 1987, by which time the material had a new relevance. The gripping film captures the negotiations between the labor unions and the factory bosses and shows the birth of the region’s Worker’s Party, as well as the emergence of its charismatic leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Rising from extreme poverty, Lula gained national prominence as a union activist during the late 70s and early 80s. After being jailed during his time as a union leader, he eventually becomes Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010.

ABC of a Strike

ABC of a Strike captures the 1979 metal workers strikes outside of São Paulo. The footage sat untouched until after the death of highly-regarded director Leon Hirszman in 1987, by which time the material had a new relevance. The gripping film captures the negotiations between the labor unions and the factory bosses and shows the birth of the region’s Worker’s Party, as well as the emergence of its charismatic leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Rising from extreme poverty, Lula gained national prominence as a union activist during the late 70s and early 80s. After being jailed during his time as a union leader, he eventually becomes Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010.

Feliz Ano Velho

After diving into a shallow lake, a college student becomes tetraplegic. In his wheel chair, he remembers the important facts of his life as an adolescent.

Santo and Jesus, Metalworkers

From its very title, Cláudio Kahns and Antônio Paulo Ferraz's Santo e Jesus, Metalúrgicos is crystal clear about where it stands and about its messianic flair. Through a wordplay with the religious connotation of the names of the two men, murdered during the worker strikes of the late 1970s in São Paulo, it associates sainthood and Christ himself with the working class. That association is reaffirmed throughout the film, from the very beginning, including by a priest. The martyrdom of metalworkers Nelson Pereira de Jesus and Santo Dias da Silva is the starting point to denounce the working conditions faced by factory workers, and the repression which ensues whenever they try to resist them. However, the film also presents us with the 'official' version of the facts, going so far as to feature interviews with the man who killed Nelson. Obviously, it sides with the workers, as it conveys the strength of the oppressed and the impudence of the oppressors.

Chapeleiros

An attentive and time-consuming observation of the daily life of workers in a hat factory - entering the factory, the rhythm of the machines, the rhythm of manual work, the steam, the brief and precious break for lunch, the mechanical gesture of the worker repeated over and over again countless times, the silhouettes of bodies. The only foray into direction by the prolific photographer and art director of Brazilian cinema, Adrian Cooper.

The JK Years: A Political Trajectory

Documentary about Brazilian history, from 1945 until the 70s, focusing on president Juscelino Kubitschek, his political rise, his philosophy of economical development, his gigantic project ...