Architecture and Modernism in Brazil

Filmmakers Karim Aïnouz, Ana Maria Magalhães and Fabiano Maciel in discussion with architect Pedro Moreira. Moderation: Ilda Santiago

Fabiano Maciel (* 1965 in Porto Alegre) is a director, producer and screenplay writer who now specializes in documentaries. His documentary essay on the reaction of a small Brazilian community to the moon landing by Apollo 11 grabbed the limelight at numerous festivals and was also shown at the New York MoMA. “Oscar Niemeyer – A Vida é um Sopro“ is Maciel’s first documentary feature film and he spent ten years working on it.

Pedro Moreira (born 1965) is an architect and architecture historian based in Berlin and São Paulo. He has published numerous works addressing architecture and city planning in Germany and South America and the international influences of Modernism.

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.

Ana Maria Magalhaes (* 1950 in Rio de Janeiro) is one of the best-known and funniest actresses in Brazil. She has acted in films by numerous famous Brazilian directors, from “Girl from Ipanema“ (Leon Hirszman) to “Das Alter der Erde“ (“The Age of the Earth”) by Glauber Rocha, etc. In the late 1970s, she directed her first film, the documentary “Mulheres de Cinema“ (“Women in Cinema”) and went on to make several short films. She subsequently turned her attention to the life and work of the architect and city planner, Affonso Eduardo Reidy, producing two documentary films on the topic.

Ilda Santiago is the director of the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival and one of the founding members of Estação, the most important Arthouse chain in Brazil.