In the first semester of his audiovisual degree at the University of the State of Amazonas, Syd Elliot received a rare opportunity: to be part of a national event showcasing free screenings of short and feature films aimed at stimulating discussions on human rights. This is the Cinema em Movimento – Circuito Universitário, which will arrive in Manaus next Saturday, August 17, with the screening of Para Onde Voam as Feiticeiras by Eliane Caffé, Carla Caffé, and Beto Amaral, starting at 2 PM at the Palacete Provincial, in downtown Manaus.
At 22 years old, Syd discovered Cinema em Movimento through an Instagram story. “There was an announcement for university students in the humanities fields. I signed up online. A month passed, and I had forgotten about it, when they contacted me. I did the online interview, and the next day they informed me I had been selected,” he recalls. However, the experience would turn out to be even bigger than expected.
In July, the Amazonian student traveled to Petrópolis, a mountain town in Rio de Janeiro, where he participated in training with university students from all over Brazil, plus the Federal District. “We stayed at a hotel for a week. The first day was for introductions through a roundtable discussion. The following days were spent in the morning with the Cinema em Movimento team explaining the project, how to conduct debates, and all the technical aspects. In the afternoons, we watched the films, and the evenings were dedicated to discussions. Without a doubt, it was an incredible and very enriching experience,” he said.
The screening of Para Onde Voam as Feiticeiras at the Palacete Provincial marks the beginning of a marathon for Syd: until December, the student will be responsible for hosting three screenings of each of the five films in the project, along with five live broadcasts on the Óscar Ramos cineclub page at UEA. However, this does not discourage Syd.
“I didn’t expect so many opportunities in such a short time—besides this project, I’ve already worked as an assistant director on a short film. I thought it would be like my other college experiences, such as psychology or production engineering, where things take time to happen. The audiovisual market is really good, there’s a lot of space. Cinema em Movimento makes me really happy, and I’m always looking to improve,” he said.
Sponsored by Petrobras through the Petrobras Cultural program, Cinema em Movimento – Circuito Universitário has been running since 2000 by MPC Filmes, with the aim of fostering dialogue and reflection on national and historical issues raised by the films presented in the academic environment.
In this edition, five films focused on human rights themes will be shown. These include feature films Para Onde Voam as Feiticeiras by Eliane Caffé, Carla Caffé, and Beto Amaral; Rio, Negro by Fernando Sousa and Gabriel Barbosa; and Olha Pra Elas by Tatiana Sager, as well as the short films Vãnh gõ tõ Laklãnõ by Barbara Pettres, Flávia Person, and Walderes Coctá Priprá, and Vozes Negras by Isabela Ferreira, Karime Pereira, and Maria Eliane Alves.
“We believe in the power of information through cinema. More than just a film screening, the showcase is a space for broad communication, serving as an effective tool for disseminating and multiplying messages,” says Luciana Boal, director of MPC Filmes.
