Undertow Eyes + I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You

Olhos de resacca (Undertow Eyes)
D: Petra Costa, BR 2009, 17 min, English subtitles
“Olhos de Ressaca“ relates the memories of an aging couple that has been together for 60 years. While they leaf through the family photo albums and tell their life stories, the images of the past and the present merge to create a separate universe of dreams and love.

Viajo porque preciso,volto porque te amo (I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You)
D: Karim Aïnouz and Marcelo Gomes, BR 2009, 75 min, English subtitles
The geologist José is sent to north-eastern Brazil to research routes for the construction of a canal to improve the living conditions of an infra-structurally weak region. Yet the canal poses a catastrophic threat to the livelihoods of all those who have to be relocated for the waterway. The film tells the story from the perspective of the traveler, José, who struggles not just with the vagaries of nature but also with his separation from his wife. The film develops a dense atmosphere of emptiness, isolation and loneliness, in which the images of deserted areas and the geologists’ emotional world grow ever more entangled.

Karim Aïnouz (* 1966 in Fortaleza) is one of the best-known and most innovative directors in Brazil. He studied architecture and film and made his breakthrough as a director with the feature film “Madame Satã“ (2002). The movie, which tells the tale of an eccentric dancer, singer and transvestite, João Francisco dos Santos, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and received awards at numerous international festivals. Karim Aïnouz currently lives in Berlin.