At the Movies with Christiane Jatahy

As part of the programme series Eye on Art, Christiane Jatahy has put together her own film evening, which includes Cabra marcado para morrer: Vinte anos depois (also known by the English title Twenty Years Later) by Eduardo Coutinho. This film inspired Jatahy’s Depois do silêncio and is about João Pedro Teixeira, who led the peasant protests in the Brazilian state of Paraíba. He was assassinated in 1962 by order of the landowners, whom the protests were against. Beforehand, the short film Soberane (Sovereign) by Brazilian director Wara will be shown. After the screening of this first film, Christiane Jatahy will have a talk with Rafael Roncato. 

Cabra marcado para morrer

After filming a protest against the peasant activist’s murder, Coutinho decided to turn Teixeira’s life story into a movie. In 1964, the director had Teixeira’s wife and a number of peasants play themselves for the sake of authenticity. But this year also saw a coup in Brazil, and after 35 days of filming the military dictatorship put a stop to the project. Cast and crew members were arrested and the footage confiscated. The footage already filmed up until then had already been sent to Rio de Janeiro and thus remained out of the hands of those in power.

In 1979, Coutinho returned to the region where large parts of the film were shot. He considered completing his thirteen year old film, but went another direction in the end. The original film became the basis for a documentary in which Coutinho has all those involved tell the story of this first film and its interruption. He also filmed the reactions of Teixeira’s widow and the local people.

Cabra marcado para morrer went on to become, as American media magazine Variety put it, ‘a historic document of the revolution from the losers’ perspective’. A classic that in 2015 ended fourth in the Brazilian Film Critics Association’s Top 100 of Brazilian films.

Soberane (Sovereign), dir. Wara

Hakan does not wish to return to Brazil, but doesn’t know how to tell Lissy that they can no longer offer her a dream life outside of Cuba. Hakan grapples with indecision when Lissy discovers that they have kept from her a chance to get off the island. Out of options that allow them to stay, Hakan must accept the new person they have become in order to return home.