Vento Norte

Salomão Scliar’s strongly Neorealist-driven fiction debut about the daily toil of fishermen in a small village threatened by the fury of the elements was the first feature made in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. A singular work and precursor to Brazil’s Cinema Novo. A major rediscovery.

Destiny demanded that the digital restoration of Vento Norte should have its world premiere at IFFR – as the Netherlands was the first European country the film’s director, Salomão Scliar, ever visited. He started his overseas sojourn here in 1948 to attend Queen Wilhelmina’s Golden Jubilee, arriving just in time on 29 August, and leaving on 23 September 23, after Queen Juliana’s enthronement.

Scliar was originally a photographer for cinema and newspapers (shots from his European trip were published in the Revista do Globo); with his first short Homens do mar (1945), he expanded his creative interests to directing. Scliar’s strongly Neorealist-driven fiction debut about the daily toil of fishermen in a small village threatened by the fury of the elements, Vento Norte, also became the first feature made in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It would remain Scliar’s sole excursion into fiction as well as longform cinema – a singular work that now looks like a precursor to Brazil’s Cinema Novo a decade down the road.

–Olaf Möller

Restoration Project of Vento Norte, an initiative by Cinemateca Capitólio and Cinemateca Brasileira, Production – Daniela Mazzilli and Marcus Mello (Cinemateca Capitólio), Technical Coordination and Digital Preservation Consulting – Débora Butruce, 4K Restoration – Mapa Filmes do Brasil, Post-Production – Link Digital

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