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| Retomada (Brazilian cinema) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Retomada |
| Caption | Poster montage of influential films from the Retomada era |
| Years | 1990s–2000s |
| Country | Brazil |
| Major figures | Walter Salles, Fernando Meirelles, Fernando Trueba, Carlos Diegues, José Padilha, Kátia Lund, Glauber Rocha, Rogério Sganzerla, Ruy Guerra, Sergio Bianchi |
| Notable works | Central do Brasil, Cidade de Deus, Tolerância?, O Quatrilho, O Auto da Compadecida |
| Influences | Cinema Novo, Cinema Marginal, Tropicalismo, Cinema da Retomada |
Retomada (Brazilian cinema) is the term applied to the revival of Brazilian film production and international recognition that began in the early 1990s and consolidated through the 2000s. The movement followed a period of sharp decline and institutional contraction in the 1980s and intersected with initiatives in film financing, festival exposure, and auteur development. Retomada films connected domestic narratives to global circuits via co-productions, festival circuits, and box-office successes.
The Retomada emerged after the crisis linked to the closure of Embrafilme and the collapse of the Brazilian film market in the late 1980s, a moment that involved actors such as Anselmo Duarte, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Glauber Rocha, Ruy Guerra, Carlos Diegues, and institutions like Cinemateca Brasileira and Fundação Biblioteca Nacional. Early catalysts included policy debates in the National Congress of Brazil and cultural activism from groups associated with MinC and municipal secretariats in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. International exposure at festivals—Festival de Cannes, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival—helped reinsert Brazilian cinema into global conversations championed by producers linked to Globo Filmes, Lereby Produções, and independent companies such as Cooperativa Paulista de Cinema.
Retomada occurred amid macroeconomic shifts including the Plano Real stabilization, privatizations overseen by the Ministry of Finance (Brazil), and cultural policy reforms led by ministers like Gilberto Gil and Juca Ferreira. Financing mechanisms shifted toward models using incentives from Lei Rouanet, tax breaks involving state legislatures such as those in Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo (state), and public banks like Banco do Brasil and BNDES. Co-productions involved partners in France, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and Italy, linking producers to markets serviced by distributors including Europa Filmes, Fox Filmes do Brasil, Warner Bros. Brazil, and arthouse circuits run by venues such as Cinemateca Uruguaya and Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro.
Significant directors associated with the Retomada include Walter Salles (notably Central do Brasil), Fernando Meirelles (Cidade de Deus), Pedro Almodóvar-adjacent co-production collaborators, Hector Babenco (returning with late-career works), Rogério Gomes (Rogério Sganzerla), Carlos Diegues, José Padilha (Tropa de Elite precursors), Kátia Lund, Beto Brant, Sérgio Bianchi, Monty Branco, and emerging auteurs who screened at Festival de Gramado and Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo. Key films include Central do Brasil, Cidade de Deus, O Quatrilho, O Auto da Compadecida, Bicho de Sete Cabeças, Terra Estrangeira, O Homem que Copiava, Carandiru, Abril Despedaçado, O Invasor, Linha de Passe, Estômago, Amarelo Manga, Lavoura Arcaica, A Partilha, O Céu de Suely, Que Horas Ela Volta? (as later resonance), and festival-circuit titles that entered repertoires of Cannes Directors' Fortnight and Sundance Film Festival.
Institutional transformations featured the reestablishment of funding lines at Ancine (created as Agencia Nacional do Cinema), revision of the FSA (Fundo Setorial do Audiovisual), and incentives through municipal laws such as Rio’s cultural incentive regime. Legislative debates involved members of Congresso Nacional, ministers like Gilberto Gil and Juca Ferreira, and regulatory frameworks interacting with ANCINE and MinC. Training and production infrastructure expanded through partnerships with universities such as the Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and technical schools like Escola de Cinema Darcy Ribeiro, while film laboratories and postproduction facilities in Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Belo Horizonte received investment. Distribution models diversified with the rise of multiplex chains like Cinemark Brasil and imports handled by Imagem Filmes.
Retomada aesthetics negotiated legacies of Cinema Novo, Cinema Marginal, and Tropicalismo while responding to contemporary urban realities in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, portrayals of violence seen in favelas, family drama setpieces, adaptation practices drawing on writers such as Graciliano Ramos, Clarice Lispector, Jorge Amado, Machado de Assis, and Lima Barreto, and realist-influenced cinematography from collaborators like Walter Carvalho and Affonso Beato. Genres blended social realism, crime drama, comedy, and melodrama, with production design referencing Modernismo Brasileiro and music scored by composers linked to Tropicália and musicians like Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Tom Zé, Arnaldo Antunes, and Rogério Skylab.
International festival accolades at Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and commercial success at domestic box office arenas such as Cine Roxy and Cinemark established Retomada works in circulation alongside television adaptations on TV Globo and streaming later via platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Critics from outlets including Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo, Veja (magazine), The New York Times, The Guardian, and scholars publishing in journals tied to Universidade Estadual de Campinas debated authenticity, representation, and marketization. Awards such as the Festival de Gramado prizes, Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro, César Awards partnerships, and nominations at the Academy Awards elevated profiles of Brazilian filmmakers.
The Retomada fashioned institutional legacies in financing via ANCINE and cultural policy paradigms echoed by ministers like Gilberto Gil and Juca Ferreira, pedagogy at film schools including Escola de Comunicações e Artes da USP, and production networks connecting Brazil to Europe and North America. Contemporary directors such as Anna Muylaert, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Breno Silveira, Daniel Ribeiro, Beto Brant, Karim Aïnouz, and Lula Buarque de Hollanda cite Retomada-era models; streaming services and transnational co-productions continue patterns first institutionalized in the 1990s–2000s. Retomada remains a reference point for debates at festivals like Mostra de São Paulo and policy forums in Brasília.
Category:Brazilian cinema Category:Film movements