Rio Gringa

Brazilian Futebol Documentary: Cadência

While I hesitate to double post, especially on a Friday, I absolutely couldn't wait to share this wonderful documentary. Yet another innocent PR email, and I was head over heels for this amazing film that's been split up into little episodes that stream for free on Babelgum. The movie is about Brazilian soccer and how it is an instrinsic part of the Brazilian psyche and culture. It's a historical, cultural, anthropological, sociological, and economic look at Brazilian soccer, with fascinating details shown in a simple and beautiful style.

For those of you interested in this type of in depth look at Brazilian futebol and its role in Brazilian culture, I also highly recommend Futebol: A Brazilian Way of Life and Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Football Hero. The first book in particular is one of the best books I've ever read about Brazil.

But getting back to the movie - I think there may be more segments coming, but for now there are only five, and I'm hoping there will be more.

Without further ado, I give you Cadência.

Episode 1: A Sense of Self/Maracanã

Episode 2: Continent and Universe

Episode 3: In the Case of Football/Charles Miller

Episode 4: Folkloric/Dreams

Episode 5: The Pulse

Uma pequena entrevista com José Joffily

Como vocês já devem saber, o filme Olhos Azuis estreia hoje no Brasil. A longa trata da imigração, das relações entre a América Latina e os EUA, e dos relacionamentos. O ator americano David Rasche faz o papel do oficial cruel no aeroporto JFK, e os atores brasileiros Irandhir Santos e Cristina Lagos são o protagonista e a heroina, respectivamente. O filme é muito interessante e vale a pena ver. Para vocês que moram aqui nos EUA, tenho boas notícias: acabei de saber que o filme vai estreiar em Nova York no Festival Inffinito de Cinema em junho.

Esta semana, fiz uma pequena entrevista com o diretor, José Joffily, sobre sua experiência com o filme e para tirar umas dúvidas minhas. Se vocês tiveram mais perguntas para ele depois de ver o filme, deixem um comentário e posso ver se ele ou a assessora dele pode responder.

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Entrevista com José Joffily

Ao final, que aconteceu com seu amigo (que morava nos EUA)? Ele ajudou com o filme?
Ele está vivo e feliz. Depois de deportado, conseguiu voltar. Adora viver na América. Ele não viu.
 
Qual é a sua cena preferida no filme, e por que?
Gosto muito do relato do Marshall quando a ficha cai e subitamente entende o boliviano de quem tinha desconfiado. Talvez porque seja um cena que tenha caído por questões de produção, mas gostavamos tanto dela que, como não podiamos filmar, contamos...Gosto também da dança que vem em seguida, pelo que ela promete que possa mudar na dupla.
 
O que você aprendeu durante sua experiência fazendo o filme?
Mais uma vez entendi que é apenas um filme.
 
Você pensa em fazer mais filmes "internacionais" com um elenco e um tema sobre pessoas de vários países?
Não estou me programando para este modelo. Todo filme é um protótipo, o cinema se reinventa a cada filme.
 
Você já teve uma experiência constrangedora com em um aeroporto nos EUA ou na Europa?
Estou meio velho, os senhores oficiais não são instruídos a desconfiarem dos anciões.

Para mais informações sobre o filme, clique aqui.

Favela on Blast

While I strive to be the among the first to post about new movies, I'm a little behind on this one. Philadelphia-based DJ Diplo and Brazilian director Leandro HBL made a documentary about funk carioca that's coming out on July 20th, called Favela on Blast. A little description from the BS Blog (which stands for Baller Status, mind you):

"The upcoming film documents the culture surrounding "Funk Carioca," a musical rhythm that mixes the American electronic funk of the 1980s with the most diverse influences of Brazilian music. It is one of the most interesting musical movements in the world and it comes from one of the most violent and poorest places too: the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Bombastic rhythms coming from the Miami Bass and loops and samples are united to powerful rap vocals using Brazilian slang."

From Hollywood Reporter:

"The party footage is exciting -- outrageously sexual and friendly to swaggering performances by singers young and, in the case of an eccentric-looking character named Biruleibe, grandfatherly. But equally fascinating is offstage footage in which the genre's stars hang out in slums some no longer call home but to which all seem to remain loyal, where flying a kite can stand in for more expensive diversions and hassles from police are a fact of life."

While I tend to be skeptical of movies like this that romanticize or demonize favelas and exoticize Brazilian culture and women, I'm interested in seeing the film and how it turned out, especially since it was also made by a Brazilian. It will also be interesting to see if it will have any impact on American musicians and if it fosters a greater interest in funk amongst gringos.

UPDATE: Thanks to Paul for finding an interview with Diplo discussing his career and the film:

Favela On Blast - Official Trailer from Mad Decent on Vimeo.

Team Brazil

The World Cup is almost upon us, and Nike recently released a really cool series of subtitled videos from the Brazilian national soccer team:

You can watch the whole series, called Master Speed, here.

On a similar note, I also recently discovered that Crocs has a special Brazil flag clog, if you want to be outfitted from head to toe for the World Cup.

Rio: The Movie

Back in February, I wrote about Carlos Saldanha's upcoming animated film about Rio, and thanks to my friend Quintino over at Diario do Rio, I discovered that they've just released the trailer! The film, called Rio: The Movie, looks totally charming and wonderful. The short little scene will just about break your heart with saudades, and will definitely make you smile if you've ever gone hang gliding in Sao Conrado.

I also found a nice little interview with Carlos Saldanha, in Portuguese, discussing the film:

Barzinho Restaurant, New York

Eli and his Brazilian friend recently discovered this new restaurant, which just opened in TriBeCa. Last week, Eli and I went to check it out, and it was charming and fun with excellent food, so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Leo Funderburk, an American model who has worked for a long time in the restaurant business, was originally going to open the restaurant as an expansion of Casa, which his Brazilian ex-wife runs. Instead, he decided to make it a separate entity, though I'm not clear on whether the name is in fact Barzinho, or the name used in several articles and on Yelp (Leo's Bar & Restaurant), which the owner says is easier for people to understand. I personally prefer Barzinho, which is what the restaurant has been using for advertising. Read more about Leo and the restaurant here.

Located right next door to Plataforma TriBeCa, a fancy churrascaria which charges upwards of US$50 per person, this restaurant is more moderately priced and more relaxed, with home style cooking and a family-like atmosphere. It's small but cozy, with simple furnishings and great Brazilian music. Also, on Thursdays, Chris Barreto and her band play live samba, forro, chorinho and bossa nova. The cook is an extremely sweet mineira, who scolded us for not warning her beforehand that we were Brazilian (I apparently fooled her) so she could "caprichar um pouco." Leo, the owner, was chatting with everyone and made us feel very welcome.

The restaurant has standard Brazilian fare, with delicious salgadinhos for appetizers (think coxinha and camarão ao alho e óleo) and great main courses. There's feijoada, of course, but Eli and I had the moqueca and the peixe frito, which were both amazing. One of my favorite things is a drink the owner invented -- a mixture of Brugal (rum from the Dominican Republic) and Guarana Antartica. While in theory, it's kind of an odd combination, in practice, it's surprisingly delightful.

The only two downsides are that it's cash only and slightly understaffed, so the service is a bit slow. They should theoretically start taking credit cards soon, and it's possible service is better during more crowded meal times. Overall, it's a wonderful way to matar saudades or to just eat some really delicious Brazilian food.

For more info on Barzinho, click here.

In the News

I've been saving up some interesting articles from around the Web about Brazil, so here are a few of them. I'll save the whole Iran-Turkey-Brazil deal for later this week, since it really deserves a post of its own.

Is Brazil the censorship capital of the Internet? CPJ

"But what can we learn from the appearance of certain countries in Google’s tables? In particular, what of Brazil, which currently tops both data request and content removal charts for the sheer number of requests? Are Brazilian online journalists, their sources, and the availability of their work at greater risk of censorship and exposure than elsewhere in the world?"

The favelas in Rio de Janeiro: Pacify and Serve, Huffington Post

"The term "failed state" has become a fashionable way to describe countries like Somalia, Afghanistan and Haiti, but we also now know that there can be pockets of state failure elsewhere. While not as broad, dangerous or deep as those countries teetering on the edge of anarchy, pockets of failed states suffer from the same need: to develop the institutional and physical infrastructure to integrate deprived communities into the nation state and the legal market economy."

The Guy the Red Bulls Should Get, NYT Soccer Blog

"You most likely will not see Ronaldinho in the uniform of Brazil at the World Cup in South Africa. But would it be possible and what would it take for the former FIFA Player of the Year to put on a Red Bulls uniform?"

Slaying by Rio police has man's family on a mission, Boston Globe

"For three years, the family of Joseph Martin sought answers to his shooting death by an off-duty officer in Brazil, a quest that has taken them from their Worcester, Mass., home to the streets of Rio de Janeiro. They unearthed few answers — but found a mission. Family members are using their experience to increase attention across the globe on the more than 1,000 people killed by police in Rio each year. Seeking to enlist the US government for their efforts, they have found an ally in US Representative James McGovern, who held a congressional hearing on the issue yesterday. "