Pictures of Ghosts
Brazilian release poster
PortugueseRetratos Fantasmas
Directed byKleber Mendonça Filho
Written byKleber Mendonça Filho
Produced byEmilie Lesclaux
StarringKleber Mendonça Filho
Narrated byKleber Mendonça Filho
CinematographyPedro Sotero
Edited byMatheus Farias
Music byTomas Alves Souza
Production
companies
  • CinemaScópio Produções
  • Ancine
Distributed byVitrine Filmes (Brazil)
Release dates
  • 19 May 2023 (Cannes)
  • 24 August 2023 (Brazil)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryBrazil
LanguagePortuguese

Pictures of Ghosts (Portuguese: Retratos Fantasmas) is a 2023 Brazilian documentary film written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. The film revisits Kleber's hometown, the Brazilian city of Recife, through the historical prism of the cinemas he once frequented, based on his own personal archival footage, remembering what used to be idyllic places, now closed, that constituted an important time-marker in the evolution of Brazilian society.[1]

The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, in the Special Screenings section.[2] Followed by screenings at the Main Slate section of the 2023 New York Film Festival[3] and at the Wavelengths section of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards,[4] but was not nominated.

Plot

Downtown Recife’s classic movie palaces from the 20th century are mostly gone. That city area is now an archaeological site of sorts that reveals aspects of life in society which have been lost. And that's just part of the story.[2]

Production

During seven years, while watching his own old videos at his office, on VHS, Betacam, and Hi8 cassettes, or on MiniDV, personal files and records which also contain photographs and audio recordings, Kleber began the film developing, also aiming to shoot new footage with modern equipment. Official production started in 2017, before the shooting of 2019's Bacurau, as a side project, with its own time frame.[1]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, in the Special Screenings section.[2] Followed by screenings at the 2023 New York Film Festival,[3] at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and at the 27th Lima Film Festival.[5] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Icon' section and was screened on 5 October 2023.[6]

The film had its Brazilian premiere on 14 August 2023, in Recife,[7] and was released in the rest of the country on 24 August 2023, by Vitrine Filmes.

Reception

Critical response

Pictures of Ghosts has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews, and an average rating of 7.9/10.[8]

Accolades

Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 21 May 2023 L'Œil d'or Kleber Mendonça Filho Nominated [9]
Lima Film Festival 18 August 2023 Best Documentary Pictures of Ghosts Won [10]
Chicago International Film Festival 22 October 2023 Gold Hugo for Best Documentary Nominated [11]
Valladolid International Film Festival 28 October 2023 Tiempo de Historia Award Nominated [12]
Tiempo de Historia Second Prize Won [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 bpavan (2023-05-19). "Retratos Fantasmas (Pictures of Ghosts), Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to Recife". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "RETRATOS FANTASMAS". Festival de Cannes. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  3. 1 2 "61st New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  4. ↑ "Brasil escolhe "Retratos Fantasmas", de Kleber Mendonça Filho, como o seu representante na corrida ao Oscar 2024 de Melhor Filme Internacional!". Termômetro Oscar 2024 - Candidatos, Indicados e Vencedores (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  5. ↑ "Retratos fantasmas" [Pictures of Ghosts]. 27 Festival de Cine de Lima (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Filme "Retratos Fantasmas", do cineasta Kleber Mendonça Filho, terá pré-estreia nacional no Teatro do Parque | Prefeitura do Recife". www2.recife.pe.gov.br. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  8. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pictures_of_ghosts
  9. ↑ Debruge, Peter (2023-05-27). "Cannes Awards: 'Anatomy of a Fall' Takes Palme d'Or, 'The Zone of Interest' and 'The Pot au Feu' Among Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  10. ↑ "¡Estos son los ganadores del 27 Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP!". festivaldelima.com (in Spanish). 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  11. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (14 September 2023). "'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive)". Screendaily. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Seminci 2023 anuncia nuevos nombres para la Sección Oficial y Tiempo de Historia". Cine y Tele (in Spanish). 18 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Hopewell, John; Sandovaldate, Pablo (29 October 2023). "Valladolid: 'The Permanent Picture,' 'The Old Oak' Win Big as the Spanish Festival's Reboot Wins Applause". Variety. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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