News

FEB 08, 2012

André Frateschi, Carolina Sudati, and Vinícius Ferreira in a scene of Nine Chronicles…

THREE PROJECTS APPROVED AT FAC

Funding secured for the post-production of a 35mm feature film and for the development of another one, as well as for producing a pilot for a television series. This is the result of 400 FILMES’ participation in the most recent contest promoted by the Culture Support Fund (FAC 2011), of the Government of the Federal District, which result was announced on February 8th. Along with the feature A Violent Dose of Anything, awarded at FAC 2010, these three projects will make 2012 a prolific year for the company.

With R$ 200,000 secured for its post-production, Nine Chronicles for a Screaming Heart was produced with resources from director Gustavo Galvão and partners Effects Filmes and Ludofilmes (besides 400 FILMES). With the participation of heavy-weights Simone Spoladore, Leonardo Medeiros, Júlio Andrade and Denise Weinberg, the movie is a special case in the Brasilia scene, for, among other reasons, having the courage to do without using a traditional script and encouraging the actors and the crew to go down unexpected paths – based on sketched dramatic situations. It will be launched on the festival circuit in 2012. The movie will be 93 minutes long.

André Carvalheira, the cinematographer of Nine Chronicles and A Violent Dose of Anything, is at the helm of Submerged City, which is receiving R$ 58,000 for its development (script and project). His first feature as director and scriptwriter journeys in the mind of a citizen beyond reproach, who gradually rebels against the life that surrounds him and feeds his desire to become a killer. This funding is not the first acknowledgment that the project has received: last November, it participated in the Iberoamerican Film Crossing Borders, a laboratory organized by the Luis Buñuel Foundation and the Amazonas Film Festival (read more about it below).

Carvalheira will also be the cinematographer in the pilot series Bola que Rola, a co-production of 400 FILMES, Olho de Gato (also from DF) and Atelier (Pernambuco), which will be fully funded by FAC (R$ 46,500). The idea is to capture the importance of the practice of football for Brazilian society and to understand the sport as cultural expression, capturing images in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and Recife. It will not be about football in the big clubs, but rather, the football that is played in the streets, in schools and in improvised pitches. The pilot will be directed by Guilherme Bacalhao and Getsemane Silva. The final product will be 26 minutes long, and it will start being shown to potential buyers already in 2012.

SUBMERGED CITY CROSSING BORDERS

The project Submerged City was one of the 20 projects selected to participate in the Iberoamerican Film Crossing Borders laboratory, held alongside the 7th Amazonas Film Festival (November 7th to 9th). Producers and scriptwriters of countries like Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil met for three days in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, to present their projects and hear the comments of consultants from Germany, Canada, Spain, Mexico and Brazil.

“The consultancy was very valuable and helped the future development of the film”, says Pablo Gonçalo, co-writer and representative of this 400 FILMES project at the meeting. The consultants spoke about a wide range of themes, including co-production, international pitching that is adequate for the theme of the screenplay, target-audience definition and launching strategy. Pablo concludes: “The most interesting thing at the seminar is the valuing of a network of international contacts to help make a feature film project reality.”


DEC 29, 2011

Gustavo Galvão's A Violent Dose of Anything has its shoot scheduled for 2012

READY TO HIT THE ROAD (I)

400 FILMES’ third feature film is about to come off the paper, after four years’ development, improvement and restructuring – which included the consultancy of the internationally renowned Argentinian script doctor Miguel Machalski. With sponsorship from the Brasília’s Culture Support Fund (Fundo de Apoio à Cultura), A Violent Dose of Anything has its shoot scheduled for June/July 2012, on locations in Brasília and Minas Gerais.

The diversity of themes in its films and the experimentation with different narrative forms and esthetic propositions, combined with the objective of releasing one feature film per year between 2011 and 2013, is making of 400 FILMES a reference in the Center-West region of Brazil. The company’s first feature was released in October. Even though it was shown outside the competition, the documentary Is the City One Only? received an honorable mention from the jury at the Quinzena dos Realizadores (Filmmakers’ Fortnight), in Rio de Janeiro. Now, as we near the conclusion of the fiction feature Nine Chronicles for a Screaming Heart (launch in 2012), the company is preparing to undertake its third and most ambitious project.

With a budget of R$ 700,000 (US$ 375,000), A Violent Dose of Anything will be using the same structure as the one used in director and screenwriter Gustavo Galvão’s previous film, Nine Chronicles for a Screaming Heart. With a streamlined crew and a diverse cast (where the experience of some talented, recognized professionals complements the willingness to take risks of younger talents), everyone will be encouraged to create and reinvent themselves. The basis of this adventure is the story of two young guys travelling around central Brazil, searching for a reason to live.

The Brasília-born Vinícius Ferreira, whose first feature film was Nine Chronicles for a Screaming Heart, will share the screen with one of São Paulo’s most respected actors of his generation, Marat Descartes (outstanding in Hard Labor and The Tenants, as well as in Nine Chronicles). Chosen due to their ability to explore different registers with fluency and boldness, Vinícius and Marat play a crucial role in a project that seeks to incite the audience’s sensibility to controversial issues in Brazil today, using dark humor and self-irony.

Soon, more news about A Violent Dose of Anything! And about 400 FILMES’ other projects.


JUN 6, 2011

A Certain Oblivion (Um Certo Esquecimento, André Carvalheira, 2008)

400’S SHORTS DISTRIBUTED BY PROGRAMADORA BRASIL

Brazilian film has arrived in São José dos Quatro Marcos (MT) and also in Malacacheta (MG), Piaçabuçu (AL) and in more than 700 towns in 26 states and the Federal District. That is thanks to Programadora Brasil, a program by the Ministry of Culture’s Audiovisual Secretariat that promotes the reconnection of local audiences with Brazilian films, and also the revival of films from different eras. With four of its shorts in Programadora Brasil’s selection, 400 FILMES is participating in the initiative that has revolutionized the distribution of audiovisual products in Brazil.

The project started in 2007. 700 titles are collected in different-themed DVDs, which are sold at symbolic prices to culture centers, municipalities and other institutions (which then assume the commitment to exhibit these films at public showings, free of charge). Programadora has already reached 13% of all Brazilian municipalities. Only 9% of all Brazilian cities have commercial film theaters.

The Lens and the Window (A Lente e a Janela, Marcius Barbieri, 2005) and Danae (Gustavo Galvão, 2004) were the first films by 400 to be selected for the Programadora’s collection. A Lente e a Janela is part of Program 77 (titled Brazilian Landscapes), which sold 262 DVDs between April 2008 and November 2010. Danae is in Program 103 (Seduction and Sexuality), alongside shorts such as Eletrodoméstica (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2005) and Amassa que elas Gostam (Fernando Coster, 1998). In the same period, by November 2010, 223 DVDs had been sold.

The mark of Program 146 (The Matches and Mismatches of love) is also impressive. It includes Life Next Door (A Vida ao Lado, Galvão, 2006): 211 DVDs sold since October 2009. 400 Filmes’ next movie to tour around Brazil will be A Certain Oblivion (Um Certo Esquecimento, André Carvalheira, 2008). The short is part of Program 214, Visions of the Imaginary, available from MAY 2011. In the same DVD are renowned films like A Escada (Philippe Barcinski, 1996) and Arabesco (Eliane Caffé, 1990). These titles will enhance the Programadora’s figures, which should surpass 9.000 showings and 370 thousand viewers in 2011.

To find out more about Programadora Brasil and its programs, go to: www.programadorabrasil.org.br. To find out more about 400 Filmes’ shorts, go to SHORTS.