Oliver Stone’s new documentary, South of the Border, is due to be released soon, and President Lula will appear, along with several other Latin American presidents, including the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Cuba, and starring Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Check out the trailer below, and listen closely to the clip with Lula! (the rest is in Spanish)
Released in March, Beyond Ipanema: Brazilian Waves in Global Music, recently premiered in New York at MoMA’s Annual Brazilian Film Festival. The documentary is about the popularization of Brazilian music outside of Brazil, and how different genres of Brazilian music have been popularized. The movie includes interviews with some of Brazil’s biggest stars, including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Seu Jorge, and Os Mutantes, amongst others.
Check out the trailer and a clip from the New York premiere below!
Since we discussed the topic earlier in the week, for today’s interactive feature we’re going to talk about movies. Today’s question is: what is your favorite Brazilian film?
Unfortunately, due to a low popularity in foreign films, not many Brazilian films are released in US theaters, and those who have seen Brazilian movies have usually just seen City of God. But there are a lot of great ones out there worth seeing that you can find on DVD, through Netflix, or ordering them online.
My personal favorite is Central do Brasil (Central Station) directed by Walter Salles and starring Brazilian film star Fernanda Montenegro. It was nominated for two Oscars in 1999 and won numerous international film awards, and really is a spectacular movie. It tells the story of an older woman who befriends a young boy in Rio de Janeiro, and the journey they take together in search of the boy’s father.
What about you?
Fernando Meirelles was born on November 5, 1955 in the city of São Paulo. The child of a doctor, he had the opportunity to travel and to be exposed to different cultures. He attended the University of São Paulo and majored in architecture, but began experimenting with film. 
When he graduated, he joined with friends to create a production company, called Olhar Eletronico, which produced TV shows. When the company closed, he began working as an ad director, and became a partner in O2 Filmes, one of the largest ad companies in Brazil.
But Meirelles’ big break came in 2002, when he decided to adapt the book “City of God” into a movie, which became an international hit and earned him an Oscar nomination as best director. In 2005, he directed “The Constant Gardener,” a film starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, which received several Golden Globe nominations and four Oscar nominations. He most recently directed “Blindness,” released in 2008, which stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, and was featured at the Cannes Film Festival. Meirelles also produced several popular Brazilian films including “Cidade dos Homens” in 2007 and “O ano que meus pais sairam de ferias” in 2006.
He’s currently working as executive producer on “Extraordinary Garbage,” a film about Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, which is currently in post-production.
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