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SYNOPSIS:
"At school, the teacher said that the German boy had his culture; the European girl had hers... and I thought I had no culture at all." Maracatu Liberta tells the story of black families who find identity, strength, and culture in the rhythm and procession of Maracatu. Although far from its roots in Pernambuco, Maracatu offers hope and belonging and a path out of racism for both children and adults.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Rita de Cácia Oenning da Silva (producer, director, screenwriter) was born into a farming family that had lost its land during the military dictatorship, but she made her way to university, where she graduated in anthropology. She developed and taught science, art and perception workshops for children and worked for a time as an actress. In 2004, she won the Wenner-Gren Anthropology Prize for developing a new method of using fiction for research with children. In 2022 she won another award from Wenner Green to produce a series of documentaries about the protagonism of indigenous women. She produced the first feature film written and directed by former child soldiers (Roleta da Vida, Colombia, 2007), a soap opera with indigenous teenagers for Bolivian national TV (En Busca de la Vida, 2011). Her film The Princess in the Alleyway (Recife, 2017) won the award for best film of 2017 by the Subversive Cinema Society of Los Angeles and her documentary O Outro Lado do Outro was shown on Brazilian public TV before going to the circuit of festivals. Wuitina Numia (Amazônia, 2021) won awards at children's and human rights film festivals around the world. Rita has won the 2008 Freedom to Create Award (best human rights artwork in the world), the 2016 United Nations Intercultural Innovation Award (CanalCanoa, an Amazonian indigenous video channel), and the UNICEF Healthy Childhood Challenge in 2022 (for films about indigenous people in southern Brazil).
AWARDS and SCREENINGS:
Black and Brown Femme Film Festival (Chicago), Black Film Festival of San Antonio (Texas), Camera Corporizada(Buenos Aires), Camera Corporizada (Pelotas), The Archaeology Film Channel Festival (USA); Cinesoul (Sacramento, EUA), Chico Pelega (Brasil), Black August (Los Angeles)
- Year2025
- Runtime17 minutes
- LanguagePortuguese
- CountryBrazil
- DirectorRita Oenning da Silva
- ProducerKurt Shaw, Flor do Vento
- Executive ProducerUsina da Imaginação
SYNOPSIS:
"At school, the teacher said that the German boy had his culture; the European girl had hers... and I thought I had no culture at all." Maracatu Liberta tells the story of black families who find identity, strength, and culture in the rhythm and procession of Maracatu. Although far from its roots in Pernambuco, Maracatu offers hope and belonging and a path out of racism for both children and adults.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Rita de Cácia Oenning da Silva (producer, director, screenwriter) was born into a farming family that had lost its land during the military dictatorship, but she made her way to university, where she graduated in anthropology. She developed and taught science, art and perception workshops for children and worked for a time as an actress. In 2004, she won the Wenner-Gren Anthropology Prize for developing a new method of using fiction for research with children. In 2022 she won another award from Wenner Green to produce a series of documentaries about the protagonism of indigenous women. She produced the first feature film written and directed by former child soldiers (Roleta da Vida, Colombia, 2007), a soap opera with indigenous teenagers for Bolivian national TV (En Busca de la Vida, 2011). Her film The Princess in the Alleyway (Recife, 2017) won the award for best film of 2017 by the Subversive Cinema Society of Los Angeles and her documentary O Outro Lado do Outro was shown on Brazilian public TV before going to the circuit of festivals. Wuitina Numia (Amazônia, 2021) won awards at children's and human rights film festivals around the world. Rita has won the 2008 Freedom to Create Award (best human rights artwork in the world), the 2016 United Nations Intercultural Innovation Award (CanalCanoa, an Amazonian indigenous video channel), and the UNICEF Healthy Childhood Challenge in 2022 (for films about indigenous people in southern Brazil).
AWARDS and SCREENINGS:
Black and Brown Femme Film Festival (Chicago), Black Film Festival of San Antonio (Texas), Camera Corporizada(Buenos Aires), Camera Corporizada (Pelotas), The Archaeology Film Channel Festival (USA); Cinesoul (Sacramento, EUA), Chico Pelega (Brasil), Black August (Los Angeles)
- Year2025
- Runtime17 minutes
- LanguagePortuguese
- CountryBrazil
- DirectorRita Oenning da Silva
- ProducerKurt Shaw, Flor do Vento
- Executive ProducerUsina da Imaginação