Waldir Onofre

Born a fully grown black man in a village in the Brazilian jungle, Macunaíma later magically transforms into a white man before making an adventure-filled trip to the city of São Paulo. Once there, he becomes something of a dandy, falling in love with Ci, a revolutionary who dies in an accidental bombing. After robbing a ruthless industrialist, Macunaima returns to his village where he finds his newly acquired knowledge and possessions of little use.

Unable to endure the idea that he would go without punishment, a criminal's victim chases him the length and breadth of Brazil for a showdown.

After arguing with his ex-girlfriend, truck driver Jorge hits the road again, while remembering the past and questioning his friendship with his manipulative boss.

Inspired by the life of one of the most famous policemen in the history of Brazil: detective Perpétuo de Freitas, immortalized in the annals of Brazilian criminal history for relentlessly pursuing and without the slightest assistance of the Rio police force one of the most wanted criminals in the country.

Romantic biography of Maria Bonita, daughter of a poor farmer who was kidnapped by Lampião and became his lover.

Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.

A documentary short on Rio de Janeiro's district known as "Little Africa", shot on location, in which children and elders talk about the place's history.

A jaded reporter used to making up sensationalist headlines gets in trouble when real criminals come after him.

In the 1930s, novelist and politician Graciliano Ramos is accused of being a communist sympathizer. He is then arrested and sent to the Ilha Grande prison, where he experiences the disturbing treatment reserved for common prisoners.

Solange is a recently married young woman whose wedding night did not end well. After constant fights with her husband, she decides to live through her sexual frustration by sleeping with strangers she picks up on crowded buses in Rio de Janeiro.

Based on the true events that took place in the 70s, in Rio de Janeiro. The body of beautiful girl Cláudia Lessin Rodrigues, actress Márcia Rodrigues's sister, was found in the seashore. After Police investigation, it was found she had been murdered on a party by a rich industrialist's son and his socialite hairdresser buddy, after much sex, alcohol and drugs, specially Mandrax (methaqualone). She'd probably resisted being raped and the killers threw away the body in the water. One of the guys tried to escape flying to Switzerland.

Shady and beautiful art dealer involves her former lover and an art expert in a scheme to deceive a rich collector. Exposed, she escapes with her new lover, a pilot.

A movie about a Brazilian entrepreneur who rivalled American's richest man at his time, well-known Rockfeller. Irineu Evangelista de Souza in 1867 had $155.000 contos de reis, meanwhile the Brazilian Governement annual budget was 97.000 contos de reis. The movie shows his life from poverty to riches and back to poverty again, as is common in Brazil, rich people die poor.

An ubiquitous folk singer narrates the tale of a young boy, who apparently becomes immune to gunfire after his mother arranges for him to have an amulet bearing Ogum's blessings. As time goes by, he becomes a valuable member of a mobster's hit-team, but ends up joining a group of people who resist his original employers.

After an extended period directing original screenplays, dos Santos returned to the creative engagement with literature that was the wellspring of his early masterpieces, offering a combinatory adaptation of five stories by the renowned Brazilian novelist João Guimarães Rosa. Openly embracing a mode of magical realism, dos Santos' celebrated film tells the story of a farming family defined by the absence of its father who abruptly abandoned his wife and children, sailing away down the river, including his son who continues to communicate with his father, speaking daily to him from the river bank. While offering an evocative vision of rural Brazil as a timeless land of mystery and solemnity, The Third Bank of the River is also bitingly satiric in the remarkable depiction of religious belief when the family moves to the city and its youngest member, a mesmerizing little girl, is revealed to be a kind of saint, capable of miraculous acts. -Harvard Film Archive

When her husband dies, Elisa asks Guerreiro if she can join his gang of bank robbers. She soon gains notoriety in the press with the nickname Lili Carabina, but is relentlessly pursued by an honest police officer.

A religious comedy in 5 segments, illustrating maniqueism on Earth, as shown by movies. God and his son Jesus disagree on how to manage human life on Earth.

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.

João-Sem-Direção knows Carvalhaes that proposes a blow to him. John does not accept the proposal, but ends up earning a hefty cash in the game.

A rock singer goes to Brazil to shoot a video, but winds up getting kidnapped and enduring a number of seemingly bizarre and hilarious events.

Milionário and José Rico are robbed of their money and their fans' enthusiasm. But a female truck driver is out to help them.

A newlywed woman, frustrated after her honeymoon, decides to search for lovers on the streets and ends up causing a conflict between her husband, a baker and a black artist.

Famous gunman Judas is hired to avenge the death of the city mayor, but his plans take an unexpected turn when he falls in love with the daughter of the colonel he is supposed to assassinate. Amidst the unfolding drama, the police attempt to broker a deal with those involved, but the arrival of the colonel’s nephew, an engineer with plans to build a dam in Degredo, disrupts the delicate balance.

Unhappy with what he'd got from life, Pedro Diabo becomes a dread outlaw, whom the police is looking for. In his life of crime, he has the love and support of a strange woman, Rosa Meia-Noite, chorus girl who likes to wear rich costumes in Carnival Balls.

Five criminals captured by Detective Lincoln Monteiro escape from the penitentiary, seeking revenge on enemies and traitors. Niquelzinho and Paulo Cabeleira kill bookmakers, while Maurilão, Chico Preto, and Mico Sujo commit several robberies. Lincoln, always refusing to adopt his colleague Morelli's doctrine of violence, receives other police missions: to solve the murder of two tourists, the marijuana spill at a school, and the capture of criminal Carlinhos Capeta.

The life of Brazilian actress Leila Diniz.

Five segments about the hardships faced by people living in slums on hills in Rio de Janeiro.

After visiting a fortune teller, Zulmira is informed that a blonde woman will threaten her peace. After talking to her husband Toninho, she suspects that her cousin Glorinha may be that blonde.

A true friendship develops between Jojô, a prostitute Rosa, and the young Eduardo, who survive on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Everything goes well until ambition takes over the trio, causing friends to aim for bigger goals, planning a big assault that could cost them their lives.

The life of a runaway slave who founded the Quilombo dos Palmares, an outlaw community of Brazilian slaves.

No description available.

During a showing of rare Afro-Brazilian Cinema films at the Cinematheque of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, actor/filmmaker Zózimo Bulbul gathered some of the most notorious Brazilian black directors to talk about their works, their lives and their perspectives on the future.