Background

The idiosyncratic portraits of Leonardo Mouramateus

15 January 2020

Background

The idiosyncratic portraits of Leonardo Mouramateus

15 January 2020

Koen de Rooij on Leonardo Mouramateus.

Fortaleza native Leonardo Mouramateus (1991) has created an exceptional, multifaceted oeuvre in a brief space of time. In 2020, IFFR will therefore be screening a collection of his work thus far in the form of a Deep Focus Short Profile. Together, his films provide an intimate look at the lives of young adults, revealing what it means to grow up in today’s modern, complex Brazil.

Mouramateus’ body of work has a number of key themes: a love of music, chance’s role in life and characters who can’t seem to find their place in life and seek a different one. The latter also characterises the director as he splits his time between Portugal and Brazil.

Mouramateus’ latest film, A chuva acalanta a dor, is a modern adaptation of a Marcel Schwob story. The film, which premieres in the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition, studies human nature and questions relations between various cultures over the centuries. In Vando vulgo vedita, Mouramateus’ political position is clearer: the film confronts viewers with systematic violence, portraying people without pigeonholing them.

In Mauro em Caiena, Godzilla symbolises a government effortlessly demolishing buildings and changing cities. The ruins that remain provide playgrounds for imaginative children. Some characters leave the constantly changing Fortaleza behind. “Maybe one day, we will say: Fortaleza once lay here”, one of them suggests. 

Yet Mouramateus is no pessimist; his work is full of hope. His characters fantasise about a better future, about meeting the love of their life, with many embracing coincidence and chance – albeit sometimes with difficulty. In A festa e os cães, a character delivers a lengthy exposition on a piece of music, concluding that: “You realise that 6 minutes and 39 seconds is enough time for things to change”. Mouramateus’ work is even hopelessly romantic at times. A welcome antidote to Brazil’s contemporary political climate.

 

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