Wellington's first Reel Brazil Film Festival

Press Release – for immediate release
November 3, 2009

November 26 - 29, 2009
Soundings Theatre
Te Papa, Wellington

This month Wellington will be filled with the sound of drums, as the first Reel Brazil Film Festival kicks off! Paying special tribute to the Brazilian Carnival and the 100th birthday of the iconic 1940s Brazilian star of Broadway, Carmen Miranda, the festival will let you experience the creativity, diversity, music and passions of Brazil through the magic of cinema. Join us for four days of feature films, documentaries, animation and music, as well as the opportunity to party Brazilian style at two spectacular festas!

To get you in the mood the Reel Brazil Film Festival opens with the energetic and downright joyous musical comedy O Pai O, set amidst carnival craziness and starring popular Brazilian actor Lázaro Ramos (Madame Sata, Carandiru). Other highlights include Once Upon a Time in Rio – a classic tale of forbidden love between rich girl Nina from (the very photogenic) Ipanema Beach, and favela-dwelling, working class boy Dé, plus a fascinating documentary about Rio's Lapa district - 'the Montmartre of South America' - where hip-hop is replacing samba as the new kid on the block and once again transforming this lively cultural centre. And after watching L.A.P.A you can dance the night away at a post-film party at the San Francisco Bathhouse...

The remarkable documentary Pirinop, My First Contact introduces us to Brazil's indigenous Ikpeng people. From their homeland in a remote corner of the Amazon, the film explores their surprisingly recent first contact with the outside world in 1964. Reel Brazil is especially delighted to be able to bring Pirinop director, Mari Correa, to New Zealand as a guest of the festival. As well as being a documentary maker and editor, Correa is the co-director of the NGO Video in the Villages, which provides video equipment and training to indigenous groups, allowing them to record their images and experiences.

With tickets at the low price of $12.00 ($10.00 for concessions) this promises to be the most affordable, as well as the most fun-filled festival of the year! For more information on the programme, ticket sales and festa locations visit www.reelbrazil.co.nz

Programmes out November 12th. The summer starts here!

ENDS

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