Free of charge courses are part of the 4th BRICS Film Festival, which will be held in Niterói, from 23rd September to 9th October, organized by the Fluminense Federal University in cooperation with the City Government of Niterói
The programme of the 4th BRICS Film Festival, held by the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in cooperation with the City Government of Niterói, will offer free courses open to the interested public about Russian and Soviet, Indian, Chinese, and South African film history, as well as the opportunity to participate in the BRICS Audiovisual Preservation Meeting, also with free registration.
The courses will be taught by internationally renowned foreign professors and researchers especially invited to the festival. These intensive classes will be in English, and simultaneous translation into Portuguese will be available.
The Chinese film history course will be taught by Shi Chuan, author of several books and professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, one of the country’s leading arts universities. Film archivist and historian Peter Bagrov, who was recently hired as curator by the George Eastman Museum – a beacon institution for film restoration –, will be in charge of the Russian and Soviet film history course. Film critic and researcher Martin Botha, author of South African Cinema: 1896-2010, will teach the South African film history course. And Ashish Rajadhyaksha, professor, researcher, and one of the authors of the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, will teach the Indian film history course.
The free courses will provide an overview of the different eras and styles of each country’s film history and will feature film screenings with English subtitles. General public registration will be open on 29 August and will only require filling in a form available on the festival’s website (www.bricsfilmfestival.com.br). Each person can only register for one of the courses and the number of vacancies is limited.
BRICS Audiovisual Preservation Meeting – On 28 August, registration will be open, also through a form available on the website www.bricsfilmfestival.com.br, to anyone who wishes to participate in the BRICS Audiovisual Preservation Meeting, held from 30 September to 3 October 2019. The event will feature roundtables with film researchers and archivists, as well as representatives of national film archives from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, always followed by debate with the audience. Simultaneous translation will be available. The event’s first three days will be open to the public: 30 September, 1 October, and 2 October, from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm.
The aim of the meeting is to bring together audiovisual preservation professionals from the BRICS countries to discuss shared challenges and develop future partnerships. The Meeting is directed at anyone interested in the history, memory, and safeguarding of audiovisual productions.
VENUES, DATES AND TIMES:
Chinese Film History: 23 to 27 September, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Venue: InterArtes Auditorium, UFF Institute of Art and Media (IACS).
Indian Film History: 23 to 27 September, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Venue: Reserva Cultural film theatre.
South African Film History: 23 to 27 September, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Venue: InterArtes Auditorium, UFF Institute of Art and Media (IACS).
Russian and Soviet Film History: 30 September to 2 October, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Venue: InterArtes Auditorium, UFF Institute of Art and Media (IACS).
Addresses:
UFF Institute of Art and Media (IACS): Rua Professor Lara Vilela, 126, São Domingos, Niterói.
Reserva Cultural: Avenida Visconde de Rio Branco, 880, São Domingos, Niterói.
Registration:
General public registration will open on 28 August and will require filling in a form available on the festival’s website: www.bricsfilmfestival.com.br.
Attention: each person can only enrol in one course. The number of vacancies is limited. Registering does not ensure participation, please wait for the confirmation email.
PROFESSORS:
Shi Chuan – Chinese Film History
A film critic, researcher, and producer, Mr Chuan teaches at Shanghai Theatre Academy, one of China’s most traditional film schools. For the past seven years, Prof. Chuan has contributed to the digital restoration and preservation of classic Chinese films such as Hibiscus Town (1986) and Stage Sisters (1965). China has a strong film tradition, with productions dating back to the silent era. More recently, since the late 1980s, the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers has brought new international visibility to Chinese cinema.
Peter Bagrov – Russian and Soviet Film History
Film historian and archivist Peter Bagrov will also take part in the Audiovisual Preservation Meeting. Bagrov was recently hired as Curator of Moving Images at the George Eastman Museum, one of the world’s leading film preservation institutions, located in Rochester, USA. He holds a doctorate degree from the Institute for Cinema Studies in Moscow (2011) and worked as a Research Associate at the Russian Institute of Art History and as an Associate Professor at St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. From 2013 to 2017, he worked as Senior Curator at Gosfilmofond of Russia. He was also vice president of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF).
Martin Botha – South African Film History
As the author of South African Cinema: 1896-2010, a volume that gives a broad, inclusive overview of South African production, Mr Botha will address South African cinema by establishing relations between films and the transformations that have taken place in South Africa’s socio-political sphere, marked by the colonial past and the discriminatory policies of the Apartheid. The professor is also a member of the jury of the BRICS Film Festival Competition section.
Ashish Rajadhyaksha – Indian Film History
Indian film expert Ashish Rajadhyaksha is one of the authors of the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. Covering films in the main Indian languages and their filmmakers, the volume includes a timeline with the major landmarks in Indian cinema. India has one of the most vigorous film industries on the planet, releasing over a thousand features a year, even surpassing Hollywood’s output. Indian cinema is extremely popular: in addition to its most well-known productions (from Bollywood, based in the city of Mumbai), it has dozens of other powerful hubs that encompass the numerous local languages.
For the full schedule of the 4th BRICS Film Festival, visit www.bricsfilmfestival.com.br.
* The programme may be changed without notice.
————————–
Press Office
Flávia Clemente
(21) 98123-9968
Thalita Queiroz
(21) 97133-8547
thalitanqueiroz@gmail.com