An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers such as Ruy Guerra, Julio Bressane, Ken Loach, Andrzej Wajda, Karim Ainouz, José Padilha, Hector Babenco, Vilmos Zsigmond, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Jia Zhangke. They all respond to two basic questions: why do they make movies and why do they serve the seventh art. The filmmakers share their thoughts about time, narrative, rhythm, light, movement, the meaning of tragedy, the audience‘s desires and the boundaries with other forms of art.
Direction
Carvalho lets masters speak without interruption—radical restraint.
Cinematography
Decaying theater becomes character; rust as aesthetic philosophy.
Production
Ken Loach and Jia Zhangke sharing space? International coup.
Director
Walter Carvalho
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Walter Carvalho shot this between commercial projects; the abandoned theater was genuinely crumbling and unsafe during filming.
The Paraíba location honors Suassuna's regionalist 'Armorial Movement'—a deliberate rejection of Rio/São Paulo cultural dominance. Most international viewers miss this entirely.
BR
