VIRTUAL DEBATE
Politics and Film Debate @ Ryerson: Virtual Panel Discussion on Bacurau (2019) Directed by Juliano Dornelles and Kleber Mendonça Filho
Bacurau, considered a modern high-tech western, became a Brazilian popular surprise hit for its political criticism and satire. It won several awards, including Cannes, Munich, Montreal, Boston, NY, and Toronto Film Critics, and selected by Barack Obama in his annual list of best films of 2020.
A few years from now… Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps, and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead. There are forces that want to expel them from their homes, and soon, in a genre-bending twist, a band of armed mercenaries led by Udo Kier arrives in town picking off the inhabitants one by one. A fierce confrontation takes place when the townspeople turn the tables on the villainous outsiders, banding together by any means necessary to protect and maintain their remote community. The mercenaries just may have met their match in the fed-up, resourceful denizens of little Bacurau.
Bacurau is available online at Ryerson/Kanopy: https://tinyurl.com/y32y2jcd
One of the main discussion topics of these Politics and Film Debate panels is to discuss the ability of a film genre (such as the western) in promoting a political debate.
Register in the link below to get the Zoom meeting code and password:
Virtual Panel Debate with Gabi Veras
Gabi Veras spent almost two decades working as a reporter and news producer, both in Canada and Brazil. Recently, after an MFA in Doc Media at Ryerson University, she shifted her focus to longer-term projects. Gabi has been working as an Associate Producer and Researcher for various series of documentaries – for Animal Planet, VICE, CBC, and Smithsonian Channel. The topics vary from climate change to historical issues, like slavery and big cities development.
Moderator/Co-Organizer:
Niki Rasekhi (TRSM: Marketing)
Organizer:
Dr. Hudson Moura