Official Selection: Competitive

New narratives with themes that portray the world’s political and social reality. Such is the cornerstone of the Competitive Section of Olhar de Cinema – International Film Festival, which strives to discover the latest in national and transnational cinema, constantly on the lookout for inventiveness and the talent to communicate.

Brazilian cinema makes its presence in this year’s edition. Three of the nine selected feature films are Brazilian: The Dream of the Useless, by José Marques de Carvalho Jr., a film that gets lost and finds itself in images, re-signifying them through time, new realities, and moments; Sweet River, by Fellipe Fernandes, explores the intimate transformations beyond the individual self, and Rolê – Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls, by Vladimir Seixas, refers back to the occupations of shopping malls featuring three young people as the leading characters.

The selection of feature films continues with Conference, by Ivan Tverdovskiy, which retrieves the invasion of the Dubrovka Theater, in Russia, during the staging of a play in 2002 by an armed group that ended with a military raid and the death of over 100 people; So Foul A Sky, by Álvaro F. Pulpeiro, explores the discourses about Venezuela created around the world that fail to grasp the complexity of the region; Zinder, by Aïcha Macky, discusses violence on the margins and the difficulty of change alongside the constant desire to transform reality; Brother’s Keeper, by Ferit Karahan shows how a place of stringency, hierarchy, and violence may yield sweetness, care, and love; Splinters, by Natalia Garayalde, talks about images that remain and, even if made by accident, tell fundamental stories for History; and Damascus Dreams, by Émilie Serri, sets out to reconstruct the history of a country amid ruins as it discovers life in details and memories.

Brazil in short films

Brazilian production also makes its presence felt in the selection of short films in this 10th edition. Four out of the 10 selected films are Brazilian: The Infernal Machine, by Francis Vogner dos Reis; Lunch Break, by Nina Kopko; Tereza Joséfa de Jesus, by Samuel Costa, and A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here, by Érica Sarmet.

Stories from the world also find their way in the selection. From Belgium, Maxime Jean-Baptiste and Audrey Jean-Baptiste present Listen to the Beat of our Images, while Matthias De Groof is behind Under the White Mask: The Film That Haesaerts Could Have Made. From France comes Vikken, by Dounia Sichov and the Senegalese co-production, directed by Moly Kane, Les Tissus Blanc.

Concluding our selection we find the Russian-Polish short film Bless You!, directed by Tatiana Chistova; and My Uncle Tudor, a co-production between Belgium, Hungary, Moldova, and Portugal, directed by Olga Lucovnicova.

See below the complete list of films selected for the Competitive Section:

COMPETITIVE | FEATURE FILMS

CONFERENCE
/ KONFERENTSIYA
Ivan Tverdovskiy | Russia, 2020, 129’

SPLINTERS
/ ESQUIRLAS
Natalia Garayalde | Argentina, 2020, 70

BROTHER’S KEEPER
/ OKUL TIRAŞI
Ferit Karahan | Turkey, Romania, 2021, 85’

THE DREAM OF THE USELESS
/ O SONHO DO INÚTIL
José Marques de Carvalho Jr. | Brazil, 2020, 72’

SWEET RIVER
/ RIO DOCE
Fellipe Fernandes | Brazil, 2021, 89’

ROLÊ – STORIES OF BRAZILIAN PROTESTS IN MALLS
/ ROLÊ – HISTÓRIAS DOS ROLEZINHOS
Vladimir Seixas | Brazil, 2021, 82’

DAMASCUS DREAMS
/ DAMASCUS DREAMS
Emilie Serri | Canada, 2021, 83’

SO FOUL A SKY
/ UN CIELO TAN TURBIO
Álvaro F. Pulpeiro | Colombia, Spain, United Kingdom, 2021, 83’

ZINDER
/ ZINDER
Aïcha Macky | France, Germany, Niger, 2021, 82’

COMPETITIVE | SHORT FILMS

THE INFERNAL MACHINE
/ A MÁQUINA INFERNAL
Francis Vogner dos Reis | Brazil, 2021, 30’

LUNCH BREAK
/ CHÃO DE FÁBRICA
Nina Kopko | Brazil, 2021, 24’

MY UNCLE TUDOR
/ NANU TUDOR
Olga Lucovnicova | Belgium, Hungary, Moldova, Portugal, 2021, 20’

LISTEN TO THE BEAT OF OUR IMAGES
/ ÉCOUTEZ LE BATTEMENT DE NOS IMAGES
Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Audrey Jean-Baptiste | Belgium, 2021, 16’

BLESS YOU!
/ Будьте здоровы!
Tatiana Chistova | Poland, Russia, 2020, 31’

UNDER THE WHITE MASK: THE FILM THAT HAESAERTS COULD HAVE MADE
/ ONDER HET WITTE MASKER: DE FILM DIE HAESAERTS HAD KUNNEN MAKEN
Matthias De Groof | Belgium, 2020, 9’

LES TISSUS BLANC
/ SËR BI
Moly Kane | France, Senegal, 2020, 20’

TEREZA JOSÉFA DE JESUS
/ TEREZA JOSÉFA DE JESUS
Samuel Costa | Brazil, 2021, 7’

A WILD PATIENCE HAS TAKEN ME HERE
/ UMA PACIÊNCIA SELVAGEM ME TROUXE ATÉ AQUI
Érica Sarmet | Brazil, 2021, 25’

VIKKEN
/ VIKKEN
Dounia Sichov | France, 2021, 27’