The exhibition identifies paths that operate directly in the transformation of the image of black people in cinema, affirming presence and issues of great importance in the construction of new perspectives on the subject. As a special guest and curator of the show, we will have filmmaker Joel Zito Araújo, exhibiting part of his work.

The curatorship also includes important works by artists Zózimo Bulbul, Gabriel Martins and Chica Santos, composing a series of productions committed to the formation of critical thinking, acting in the decolonization of the imaginary of black people in Brazil.

The films will be shown virtually and in person at the CCVM, respecting the security protocols.

I’m not alone. Many good ones have preceded me, excellent names walk by my side, and many great potentials follow us. And that’s the spirit of this show. A small panorama of the cinema I make and what is done by black filmmakers of different generations, and it did not come from me, but from those who invited me, the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center, giving me the double honor of being the curator and putting my films in the center of the Mostra.

Zózimo Bulbul was included because he was a pioneer. He understood before all of us how destructive the myth of racial democracy was for the black community, and he translated this very well in his films that began to be made in the 1970s. This legacy of yours strongly influenced my generation. In this exhibition, we bring her most incredible work, Alma no Olho. Finally recognized and celebrated by the São Paulo Biennial, which is the mecca of plastic arts in Brazil, as a great work of art that it is.

At my side, the members of the internationally recognized creative company Filmes de Plástico, made up of Gabriel Martins, André Novais and Maurílio Martins, run very well on their own legs. I chose Gabriel’s short film because, among its numerous qualities, it also captures a revolutionary demand from the very new generation of young black and black people to want not to be… Nothing. And this is just a good example of this collective’s vintage of creative works. In its technical file we understand very well that there, in this production company, we have a hive full of great ideas and capacity for realization.

But choosing successors is a problem I’ve always avoided. How can we make such a decision in the face of so many talents and so much plurality? When I was curator of the Black Cinema Meeting Brazil, Africa, Caribbean — Zózimo Bulbul, I was fortunate to follow the flowering of a new generation, with hundreds of films sprouting in every corner of the country. But even though I have the humility to understand that it is not up to me to appoint our successors, and that I am just a strong link in a chain that is extensive, I have selected two very representative names.

For the short film show, I chose Chica Andrade, with her film that was selected for numerous festivals: We’re all here. Chica is a representative of a cinema that strongly portrays the aspirations and anxieties of LGBTQIA+ creators, theming anti-colonial, anti-patriarchal struggles and for the emancipation of subordinate bodies. And productive director Mariana Jasper, invited to participate in the debate, where we will show a short excerpt from her newest short film, is one of the good examples of the recent crop of empowered black women who are already firmly in the market for their talent and attitude.

Finally, it is a show with few films, but with the strong intention of giving a panel that crosses issues of gender, race, sexuality, of different generations, and broadens the awareness of what black cinema is in Brazil today.

Joel Zito