One of the great Brazilian directors working today, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s recent epic Bacurau was unfortunately thwarted in its U.S. release, coming out as the pandemic arrived. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to catch up with the Carpenter-inspired western, and now he’s set to premiere his new film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Utilizing archive documentary, mystery, film clips, and personal memories, Pictures of Ghosts has been described as “a multidimensional journey through time, sound, architecture, and filmmaking.” Here’s the official Cannes synopsis: “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.”
“Cinemas in city centers are common to many other places in the world, but it so happens that I am from Pernambuco, from Recife, and I set out to show this city’s geography from a personal point of view,” the director told Variety. “Recife is also a city that still enjoys a spectacular cinema like São Luiz, a palace from 1952. Today, there are few cities in the world that still know what that represents.”
Ahead of the premiere, we’re pleased to exclusively premiere the first posters, featuring photos from Wilson da Cunha, Recife in 1954, with design by Clara Moreira. See below along with a trio of clips.
Pictures of Ghosts premieres on Friday at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.