A Poetic of Beauty: Nature, Memory and Resilience in El Botón de Nacar/The Pearl Button (2015)

One of the pillars of the history of Latin American documentary filmmaking is undoubtedly the Chilean director Patricio Guzmán. During more than five decades of film production, he has given an account of Chile's political history, specifically dealing with the meaning of the Chilean dictatorship for the country's past, present and future, as well as its relevance in the Latin American context. His films undoubtedly represent one of the most relevant testimonies to the continent's history in the 20th century, with hundreds of hours of footage of the high points in the violent transition process between the Allende and Pinochet governments. His film proposal will take a radical turn in his last two productions: Nostalgia de la Luz ([2010] 2011) and El Botón de Nácar (2015), which are part of a trilogy - the latter film is currently in production. Its aesthetic proposal is revolutionary in the sense that it resignifies the relationship between memory and history by establishing a connection between nature, cosmology and historical memory. In this trilogy he deals separately in each film with the desert, the sea and the mountain, leading the viewer to a reflection that, through poetic language and a meditative tone, proposes a new look at history and memory. In this essay I analyze three elements that define his film El Botón de Nacar and that open the possibilities for a new type of theoretical reflection on the documentary genre: the relationship between nature, narration and history, history understood as genealogical memory and the new type of visual aesthetic that the director is proposing, which I call "poetry of beauty".

Revivalismo dos Cartazes de Cinema de 1946–1951

The current project emerged from a partnership between the Master in Design and Arquivo Municipal da Póvoa de Varzim, where cinema posters between 1946–1951 were analized.Depending on our state of mind or certain moment, it’s perceived that it’s constantly resorted to revivalism. And why? Is this the strength of innovation or just a longing desire? Starting from this idea, the objective of this study is the revivalism of the posters found, the return of these to the memory of viewers, as well as the impact on those who don’t know them.For such project, several researches around the cinema of this era were taken, such as a documentary analysis to dissect all that these posters had of relevant, from the theme, colours or fonts used.Subsequently, an experimental / empirical investigation was undertaken, based on methodologies focused on design.Accordingly in this phase of the project, some results were reached, as the combination of various typefaces in a fluid and cohesive way, with an easy reading, comprehension and attraction of each composition developed.Thus, attractive information for each film proposal, it was possible to achieve unity in compositions, simultaneously legible and captivating for the public.

Shadows of the Sun

An inscription on a Chinese statue of Amitabha dated 746 AD reads, “As a matter of general principle, the highest truth is devoid of any image. But if there were no image, there would be no possibility for truth to manifest itself. The highest principle is without words. But if there were no words, how could the principle be known?” From the point of view of an art historian and through the example of a short animated film proposal, this essay investigates the ways in which strategies specific to animation, such as narrativity, metaphorical potency, metamorphosis, and most importantly, the capacity to penetrate intangible dimensions, mitigate these challenges. The author argues that animation offers a more efficacious medium than static images and theory in evincing Buddhist dharma; namely, that in the process of depicting Buddhist thought and practice, both the activity and product of animation become sites of merit-making and means of spiritual transformation in themselves.

O país ignoto de São Saruê lido como terra a ser revelada pelo cinema documentário (1970) * The unknown country of São Saruê interpreted as land to be revealed by the documentary film (1970)

Nesse artigo eu me proponho à análise da apropriação feita por Geraldo Sarno do tema do “isolat do sertão” presente na obra Euclides da Cunha, um dos intérpretes do Brasil de quem o cineasta se valeu para a elaboração da sua “estética cinematográfica” (1966-1969). De modo a aproximar Euclides de Sarno, dois expoentes de gerações bastante distintas de intelectuais brasileiros, examinarei o filme Jornal do sertão à luz do esquema proposto por Luiz Costa Lima para a sua análise da composição de Os sertões. Desta forma, ao longo deste estudo, pretendo sustentar ser um dos fundamentos dessa proposta particular de cinema a afirmação do documentário, na medida do seu alinhamento com as ciências, como forma privilegiada que poderia ser mobilizada para o conhecimento e registro de manifestações culturais “autenticamente brasileiras”. *This article aims to examine the reinterpretation made by Geraldo Sarno of Euclides da Cunha`s work, one of the interpreters of Brazil mobilized by the film-maker for the elaboration of his own "cinematographic aesthetics" (1966 -1969). The main theme analyzed will be the “isolation of the sertão”. In order to approach Euclides de Sarno, two exponents of quite different generations of Brazilian intellectuals, I will examine the film Jornal do sertão by the scheme proposed by Luiz Costa Lima for his analysis of the composition of Os sertões. Thus, throughout this study, I intend to assert that one of the foundations of this particular film proposal is the affirmation of the documentary, allied to the sciences, as a privileged form that could be mobilized for the knowledge and registration of "authentically Brazilian" cultural manifestations.

Addendum to Interview: Film Proposal for the British Film Institute

<p>This proposal by Siobhan Davies and David Hinton formed part of a submission to the BFI (British Film Institute, London UK). It outlines the collaboration between the two artists and the general idea of a film based on the 1917 Robert Walser story “The Walk.” The film was to be made entirely out of found footage and found photographs to create a “choreography of movement images” that would portray an individual consciousness. The proposal describes the overall idea, the deployment of Marey’s nineteenth-century chronophotographic films, the structure and key narrative elements, as well as different observational, analytical, and emotional threads of images. The proposal was submitted to the BFI in April 2012, and an agreement on the use of archive between the BFI and Siobhan Davies Dance Company was first issued in May and signed off in October 2012. The proposal is reproduced here with the permission of the two artists.</p>