Toronto's 1st Brazilian Film Festival

Toronto – It’s hot and it’s not global warming! For the first time in Canada comes a film festival fully dedicated to Brazilian cinema: the first annual Brazil Film Fest (BRAFF). In recognition of the recent surge of Brazilian film productions being recognized internationally for its quality and diversity, BRAFF aims to bring some of the best recent fares from the Brazilian new wave to Toronto’s film savvy audience. The Festival will open with Cao Hamburger’s THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION (Brazil’s official entry for the Oscars for 2008) and will close with Tata Amaral’s ANTONIA. The first edition of the annual BRAFF takes place in Toronto December 7-10, 2007 at the Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park). All films in Portugese with English subtitles. Tickets and detailed film lineup information at http://www.brazilfilmfest.net

Through a selection of 12 recent feature-length films, the first annual BRAFF explores the delights and intricacies of multi-faceted contemporary Brazil: from the sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro, to a pit stop at the poor neighbourhoods of megacity São Paulo, to a visit into an imaginary city in the country’s arid northeast; from classic samba to hip hop beats to energetic capoeira; and from the “ginga” way of soccer life to the plight impoverished women struggling to make a living in the big city.

BRAFF FULL FILM LINEUP
Opening Night Film: THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION, directed by Cao Hamburger
Closing Night Film: ANTONIA, directed by Tata Amaral
CARTOLA directed by Lírio Ferreira and Hilton Lacerda
DRAINED directed by Heitor Dhalia
THE FOREIGN EYE by Lúcia Murat
GINGA by Hank Levine, Marcelo Machado and Tocha Alves
HOUSE-WARMING PARTY by Toni Venturi and Pablo Georgieff
THE MACHINE directed by João Falcão
MARIA’S PLACE directed by Sérgio Goldenberg
MEET YOU AT THE BEACH by Daniela Kallmann and Flávia Lins e Silva
MESTRE BIMBA, THE ENLIGHTENED CAPOEIRA by Luiz Fernando Goulart
WOMEN OF BRAZIL directed by Malu de Martino