What does Brazilian cinema tell us? What does Brazilian cinema tell us about black actresses and actors? ‘Pressed, Ripped Apart’ makes use of archival sources to retrieve the trajectory of black actresses and actors who, between absences and delimited presences, between the fallacy of a racial democracy – based on the harmony among Brazil’s diverse identities – and erasure of identity, strain the history of Brazilian audiovisual and above all, our own history.
After being forced into a marriage and enduring a humiliating work routine in the hands of his father-in-law, Zé Araújo becomes the mythical Ojuara, an unconventional hero devoted to debauchery.
The strange friendship between two men of opposite social classes. Miguel is a senator. His childhood friend Jorge is a major drug-dealer. In the 1970s, they meet in prison: Miguel was there for political reasons, and Jorge, as a common criminal.
Rio de Janeiro, 1886. A precious Stradivarius violin presented to Emperor Dom Pedro II is stolen. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called to solve the case.
Quilombo dos Palmares was a real-life democratic society, created in Brazil in the 17th century. This incredibly elaborate (and surprisingly little-known) film traces the origins of Quilombo, which began as a community of freed slaves. The colony becomes a safe harbor for other outcasts of the world, including Indians and Jews. Ganga Zumba (Toni Tornado) becomes president of Quilombo, the first freely elected leader in the Western Hemisphere. Naturally, the ruling Portuguese want to subjugate Zumba and his followers, but the Quilombians are ready for their would-be oppressors. The end of this Brave New World is not pleasant, but the followers of Zumba and his ideals take to the hills, where they honor his memory to this day. Writer/director Carlos Diegues takes every available opportunity to compare the rise and fall of Quilombo with the state of affairs in modern-day Brazil.
During the military dictatorship, a political militant takes his son out of the boarding school, and puts him temporarily in a friend's luxury and empty apartment in Copacabana beach. The son knows very little about his father, and the latter cannot really explain his activities to his son, fearing for his security. So the young man stands alone in the huge apartment, waiting for the infrequent meetings with his father, without really knowing what's going on.
Paulo Otávio is the host of a pirate radio station on the slums of Rio de Janeiro. He struggles to mantain the station working, since the only help he's got comes from news reporter Calói. Their story goes beyond as the city starts to face a crime wave.
