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Radical Defiance: Queer Brazilian Super-8 Shorts 1982-3 (18*) + introduction by QueerGarden

Queer 80s

,Cinema 2
Two women embrace on a tropical beach.

Three powerful Brazilian short films from the early 1980s explore queer lives in the last years of the military dictatorship, showing in the UK for the first time.

From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, a wave of radical short films, shot on Super-8 by queer filmmakers, emerged in north-eastern Brazil as part of a movement termed ‘Cinema Guei’. These films denounced conservativism and religious oppression that continued to prevail under the military rule and celebrated gay lives at a time of intense, machismo-fuelled prejudice.

This selection includes Closes, a punchy film that blends documentary and a fictional romance between two men, a screening of which was shut down by the military police. Baltazar da Lomba imagines the first historical record of the repression of homosexuality in the state of Paraíba during the colonial period while Era Vermelho Seu Batom (Your Lipstick Was Red) considers the prejudice that can come from within gay communities as a Carnival romance ends in tears.

Tagged with: Cinema Pride 2024 Queer 80s

Programme

Closes

Romantic and erotic scenes between two young men are interspersed with drag performances and vox pops considering contemporary attitudes, some defending respect for the free exercise of sexuality, others homophobic, in relation to gay life in Paraíba, in the context of the repression of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship.

Brazil 1982 dir Pedro Nunes 32 min, in Portuguese with English subtitles

 

Baltazar da Lomba

An unapologetically queer imagining of the tale of a man convicted of sodomy by the Inquisition in colonial Brazil.

Brazil 1982 dir Grupo Nós Tambén 20 min, in Portuguese with English subtitles

Era Vermelho Seu Batom (Your Lipstick was Red)

Passion, internalised homophobia and heartbreak arise during Carnival.

Brazil 1983 dir Henrique Magalhães 12 min, in Portuguese with English subtitles

Biography

QueerGarden / Beliza Buzollo is a Brazilian trans photographer spotlighting the beauty of queer power and joy in diverse cities worldwide, from São Paulo to the Finnish Arctic.

Explore the rest of Queer 80s

There are plenty of great films screening as part of Queer 80s throughout June.

Cinema 2

Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue. 

Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.