FIPRESCI Award to Brazilian Film

The winner of the Rotterdam FIPRESCI Award 2012 is the Brazilian movie O SOM AO REDOR (NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS), by Northeast Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho. According to the jury the movie "recall[s] an athmosphere of paranoia and threat by a very ambitious use of sound and cinematography".

The jury of the international federation of film critics FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) awarded the best film in the Tiger Awards Competition. The jury consisted of Carmen Gray (jury chairman, Sight & Sound, Little White Lies, United Kingdom), Dennis Lim (Artforum, USA), Marcelo Janot (O Globo, Brazil), Nicole Santé (Oor; Ad Valvas, The Netherlands), Clarence Tsui (South China Morning Post, Hong Kong).

O SOM AO REDOR had its world premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition of the IFFR in 2012. The movie received contributions for script and project development and for postproduction from the Hubert Bals Fund.

Meandering past the residents of a wealthy street in Recife, where private security guards ply their trade, this self-assured debut portrays the two sides of the Brazilian Dream. Filho scratches the varnish of a culture that revolves around paranoia, fear and revenge.

A few years ago, Kleber Mendonça Filho was given a ‘Short Profile’ at IFFR, so his feature debut has obviously been eagerly awaited. This cinephile jack-of-all-trades - filmmaker, festival organiser, critic and producer - from Recife in Brazil expanded on a theme from his short film Eletrodoméstica and turned it into a gripping, ominous debut.

An x-ray of a middle-class district in Recife: in the street where a rich family owns lots of real estate, life takes an unexpected turn when a private security outfit offers its services to the residents. The presence of guards (led by Clodoaldo, played by Irandhir Santos, who is also the protagonist in Rat Fever) gives them a feeling of security, but also adds a large dose of anxiety in a society that flourishes on fear. Meanwhile Bia, the mother of two children, tries to find a way to deal with the barking of the guard dogs that gives her sleepless nights.

Neighbouring Sounds is a piece of contemporary Braziliana that effortlessly offers new insights into an apparently normal socio-economic network. Deserving of special mention: the excellent acting across the whole cast and the way in which the urban space and interior design play a leading role.

Sources

FIPRESCI AWARD IFFR>>>

O SOM AO REDOR AT WEBISTE IFFR>>>