Abstract/Summary

The central aim of this thesis is to examine how the art direction work in recent Pernambucan films presents the Brazilian Northeastern identity. The thesis examines how selected filmmakers and art directors identify the complexities of the region, portraying the relationships between the interior of the state of Pernambuco and its capital, Recife. The thesis reflects on how Pernambuco’s cinema traverses two important axes: the sertão and the seaside. Therefore, I investigate the perspective that Pernambuco filmmakers inaugurate in their productions: they have cast an original look at the region and brought to the screen new images, sounds, lights and colours that highlight its historical and cultural background as well as its dialogue with new technologies and cinemas from around the world. From this approach, a new Northeastern identity emerged. In particular, the Aridomovie movement from the mid-1990s onwards was responsible for returning Pernambuco to the Brazilian cinema map, by means of a unique visual representation of the State of Pernambuco and its capital Recife. In order to substantiate this claim, I examine the local and national context in which this new generation of filmmakers emerged in the mid-1990s and how they negotiated Pernambuco’s cultural identity between tradition and modernity, local and global, past and present. Five key films were selected for analysis, which allow me to focus on the work of four art directors: • Adão Pinheiro in Baile Perfumado (Perfumed Ball), 1996, directed by Lírio Ferreira and Paulo Caldas • Renata Pinheiro in Árido Movie (Arid Movie), 2005, directed by Lírio Ferreira, and Amarelo Manga (Mango Yellow), 2003, directed by Cláudio Assis • Marcos Pedroso in Cinema, Aspirina e Urubus (Cinema, Aspirina e Urubus), 2005, , Marcelo Gomes • Dani Vilela in Amor, Plástico e Barulho (Love, Plastic and Noise), 2015, directed by Renata Pinheiro The methodology involved close film analysis, interviews with film directors, art directors and researchers from Pernambuco, as well as other written and oral sources. The research also benefited from my experience as producer and art director in the Pernambuco film industry. This thesis hopefully demonstrates the decisive role of the art director in creating the structure for the construction of cinematic imagery and visual identity.