Amadeu

As beautiful and sleek as it is deadly, 52 Blocks merits special conservation efforts as the United States' only existing native martial culture, as it is indeed, the jazz of the martial arts world. Across the African diaspora, there are manifestations of African-derived warrior-dances, capoeira in brazil, mani in Cuba, ladja in Martinique, pinge in Haiti- yet the US offshoot has remained esoteric, because it was suppressed throughout slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow and then obscured in the criminal justice system. The history, interviews and training of the martial arts style that created Breakdance and boxing greats like Mike Tyson.

Nothing Like Before delves into the creation of the Clube da Esquina Album (Brazil, 1972). Considered by many music critics one of the best albums of all time, it presented to the world musicians like Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Toninho Horta, Beto Guedes and Wagner Tiso.

Based on the life of a legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, "Besouro" spins a fantastic tale of a young Brazilian man of African descent in search of his mission.

"RHYTHM & RESISTANCE" tells the story of three protagonists who are involved in the traditional cultural scene in north-eastern Brazil. Until the day the country's presidential elections draw ever closer. Suddenly, nothing seems the same anymore and it's all about preventing the populist Jair Bolsonaro.

Luciano Candisani, award-winning Brazilian photographer, returns to the Pantanal, the world’s largest floodplain, to document its biodiversity and raise awareness about severe environmental threats. The region faces drastic water flow changes and unprecedented fires, yet Candisani finds hope and resilience amidst the challenges.

The documentary that began together with Mestre Môa do Katendê before his political murder, tells the life story of this capoeirista and founder of Afoxé Badauê, intertwined with the rise of black cultural manifestations in Bahia, based on a last interview left by him.

Are there trans people in the punk movement? How does punk resists in a brazilian state as conservative as Goiás? Is it open to different gender expressions?

A video essay that seeks to represent, study and pay homage to the North American filmmaker Cecelia Condit, covering all of her film work and video installation, portraying her through devices of semiotics, aesthetics and cinematographic language.

Life is what we don't want it to be.

Before Cinema Novo revolutionized the Brazilian cinematic scenery, a young craftsman and Bahian filmmaker had already paved the way for the beginning of the journey for some of the biggest and most popular films of Brazilian history. The documentary tells fragments of the story of director Roberto Pires, through snippets of his life and a journey through his body of work, interspersing archival footage, scenes of his films and an interview with his son, also a filmmaker, Petrus Pires, followed by a poetic narration and an original soundtrack inspired by his film Abrigo Nuclear.

Rabbi Capoeira reveals a dramatic and unknown occurrence in the heart of Bnei Brak, the largest ultra-Orthodox city in Israel. The hero of the film is the Capoeira champion of the Mediterranean. He is an ultra-orthodox man whose life was saved by Capoeira, who wants to revolutionize his beloved society, despite the strong criticism he has towards it. Together with his dream partner, a brave ultra-Orthodox woman with a tough life story of her own, he fights like a lion and is not ready to take no for an answer.

Four Brazilian friends meet to reflect on the importance of the friendship network they built from being immigrants in Argentina. Drawn by nostalgia, they travel a sensory path to their roots and, through food and dance, they explore the challenges and satisfactions of living in another country.