Tropicália and beyond: dialogues in Brazilian film history

Although the Brazilian cultural movement Tropiclia is most commonly associated with music and the visual arts, its sense of playfulness and strategies of appropriation have stimulated many of the countrys filmmakers since the 1960s. The term was first given to a pair of installations by Hlio Oiticica, a song by Caetano veloso, and an album released in 1968 by artists that included Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Os Mutantes. According to veloso, the catalyst for the flurry of creative activity was Glauber Rochas landmark film Terra em Transe (Land in Anguish, 1967). Although Tropiclia was silenced by Brazils military dictatorship, its revolutionary gestures continued to influence Brazilian cinema. fifty years later, what is the legacy and its effect on filmmaking in Brazil today? Author and film historian Stefan Solomon brings together numerous historical and contemporary voices to consider these questions, while offering multiple perspectives on this vibrant time in Brazilian art and culture. Tropiclia and Beyond accompanied a film series at the Tate Modern in 2017.