Brazil's film festivals spotlight women directors and Chinese cinema

The 11th Women in Cinema showcase was held on Sunday, June 19, as part of the 33rd Festival de Cinema de Vitória at the Cariê Lindenberg hall of Sesc Glória in Espírito Santo. The program featured five short films directed by women—Nadar em Aquários, Batata Frita na Chuva, Núbia, Lactação and Maira Porongyta – O Aviso do Céu—covering themes of youth, gender identity, motherhood and Indigenous spirituality. Director Fernanda Taddei spoke about dismantling patriarchal narratives in her autobiographical short Lactação. The event was sponsored by Petrobras, Vale, Banestes and other cultural partners.

Separately, USP's Centro MariAntonia hosted the Cinema Sinófono – Women, Memory and Diásporas forum on Thursday, June 23. The free, English‑language program screened the documentary Havana Divas (2018) by filmmaker and City University of Hong Kong professor S. Louisa Wei, followed by a masterclass on women filmmakers in the Sinophone world led by NYU professor Zhen Zhang. Sixty‑four participants attended the event, which aimed to use cinema as a medium for preserving memory and amplifying marginalized voices.