Zaira Zambelli

"Portraits and excerpts from Brazilian films from all times. Actors, directors and images that affirm cinema."

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During the military dictatorship in Brazil, Lorena, Lia and Ana Clara, three university students of different social backgrounds and origins meet at a nun's pension in São Paulo. Besides their differences, they become close friends, sharing their dramas and dreams, helping each other until the day they have to separate permanently.

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Dias Gomes and Marcílio Moraes' version of the soap opera of the same name by Janete Clair shown in 1970, Irmãos Coragem features as central characters João, Jerônimo and Duda, three brothers who threaten the dominance of the powerful farmer Pedro Barros, the highest authority in the fictional Coroado, in the interior of Minas Gerais, where the story is set.

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Movie director in his forties and in existential crisis falls in love with an unknown teen girl he sees walking down the streets, without knowing she's the daughter of the woman he's having a relationship with.

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Galanga, king of Congo brought to Brazil as a slave, finds gold in Vila Rica, in the State of Minas Gerais, and buys his enfranchisement, the properties of his former owner, and his companions' freedom, becoming Chico Rei, the first black man to own lands in Brazil.

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Glorinha, a middle-class 15 year old girl, always thought her mother Judite had killed herself, and that her father Gilberto has gone crazy as result. Her friend Nair takes her to a high-class bordello, where she wants to work. When uncle Raul, who raised her, discovers her prostitution, he decides to finally tell her all the truth about her parents' story.

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Evandro Souza is an engineer and travels for the first time to the interior of the country, in the village of Barreira Pequé, on the banks of the Araguaia River. He begins to make friends with the natives of the region, like Marão, but what he did not expect was to be involved in a murder. Evandro was the only witness to the crime committed by Marão, however, when questioned, he does not know what to say. Until there is a meeting between Evandro, Marão and the local corporal.

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On the last voyage of the Italian ocean liner EUGENIO C. from Genoa to Rio de Janeiro, Zurich-based ethnologist Roger Wiedmer meets Brazilian Zaira Gelbert. He wants to repeat the journey to the Indians of the Amazon described by Claude Lévy-Strauss in "Tristes Tropiques" some forty years later and begins with the first chapter: "La fin des voyages." Zaira Gelbert returns to her roots in her homeland after a two-year stay in Europe. The love story between the two—which lasts the eleven days of the crossing—becomes a dialogue between two cultures. The encounter with Zaira opens Roger's eyes. Now he perceives the sea, the ship, and above all the passengers with their stories. He meets emigrants, poets, first-class passengers, tourists, crew members, priests. A stowaway is also traveling with them.

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Marked by the reputation of “son of the devil”, Zeca sees his life change when he falls in love with Maria Rita, Santinha. But the young woman's devotion and expectations about her destiny put the romance to the test.

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The telenovela tells the story of Pedro, a young singer seeking recognition and success. The son of Celso and Anita leaves his parents' home when he discovers that his brother Claudio has become involved with his girlfriend Selma. The singer then goes to live in a student community, where he meets the siblings Bruno, a composer, and Nina. Pedro and Bruno begin a professional partnership. Nina ends up falling in love with the singer, but is torn between him and the former seminarian Chico.

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An adventurer travels by train through the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, meeting old and new lovers and remembering love affairs of his youth.

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Marina is raised by her father on an island after her mother's death. As a teenager, she moves to Rio de Janeiro to study and live with her godparents, where she ends up falling in love with Marcelo.

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The Caravana Rolidei rolls into town with the Gypsy Lord at the mike: he does magic tricks, the erotic Salomé dances, and the mute Swallow performs feats of strength. A young accordion player is completely enamored of Salomé, and he begs to come along. The Gypsy Lord shrugs, and the accordionist and his pregnant wife, Dasdô, join the troupe.

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Marcelo and Márcia, a successful couple, have different social backgrounds. She's always been rich and attached to tradition, while her husband hasn't. One day he leaves for another city, Angra dos Reis, where he meets two girls, Lena and Tânia. Marcelo and Lena get involved, while Tânia is jealous. One night the three go to a party, where a tragic accident happens.

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70-year-old widower living in a poor Rio de Janeiro suburb falls in love again when he finds a woman of approximately the same age.

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This adaptation of a classic Brazilian novel focuses on the relations of charismatic characters within a tenement.

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Toquinho is a young man living in Marechal Hermes, a poor neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, together with his widow mother and a younger sister. Although he is poor, he is also ambitious, and wants to change his life. He spends all his time on the beach, at Arpoador, Ipanema, where he dreams to become a famous surfer. Besides, he usually finds Patricia there, a rich and liberated young woman, whom he likes a lot. To impress Patricia and satisfy some of her wishes, he lets himself be seduced by André, a gay guy who, in return for his sexual favors, promises him a trip to Hawaii for a surf championship.

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