In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)
Cinematography
Stunning wide shots of Niemeyer's curves against barren plains.
Writing
Ferreira Gullar's narration drips with poetic irony.
Director
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Brasília was inaugurated in just 41 months, and the 'candangos'—construction workers—were literally erased from official narratives; de Andrade centers them.
This film helped spark Brazil's militant documentary movement, influencing Glauber Rocha and the Cinema Novo generation.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
BR
