Author: James Partridge

The Reel Brazil Film Festival opens in Wellington today, at the Paramount theatre. The festival runs from the 22nd – 28th September, before heading to Auckland and the Rialto Cinemas Newmarket from 27 October – 2nd November. The festival not only showcases the best films Brazil has to offer, there’s also feista parties to enjoy and amp up the fun in true Brazilian style. I can’t say I know much about the eight films being shown, but they look fantastic – and there’s something here for everyone. So here’s our preview (courtesy of the Reel Brazil website), complete with trailers… Check out www.reelbrazil.co.nz for all screening and fiesta times. So which ones look good to you? And as always, if you go, let us know what you saw and what you thought. Reel Brazil Festival Line Up: The Story of Me (Luiz Villaça, 2009, 110min, Drama – Literature) This story is based on the real life of the famed Brazilian writer and storyteller Roberto Carlos Ramos. At the age of six, the young Roberto is sent by his mother to an institution for poor children in the city of Belo Horizonte. His mother saw an ad on TV for the government-run institution, purporting to offer educational opportunities to boys from underprivileged backgrounds. Roberto survives by using his vivid imagination and recreating his environment, but at 13 he’s still illiterate,...