MARGARETTE'S FEAST [A FESTA DE MARGARETTE]

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER AT 7:20PM UGC SHAFTESBURY AVE SCREEN 1

Country Brazil/USA Running Time 80 mins Format 35mm Dir/S'play/DoP Renato Falc o Prod Regina Datria Cast Hique Gomez, Ilana Kaplan, Carmen Silva Print Source Global Film Initiative E info@globalfilm.org

Brazilian filmmaker Renato Falcao has created a stunning tribute to the glorious cinematic past with this astonishing silent black and white film.

Marguette's Feast tells the story of Ordinary Man (Hique Gomez) who loses his job and finds a suitcase that miraculously never runs out of money. His humdrum life (representing current peasant life in Brazil) changes dramatically. The story mirrors the difficult social mores at work in Brazil today juxtaposed with the political reality- the first truly Leftist president has been elected. The characters and audience are left amazed and breathless by the insidious tragedy revealed at the root of so-called perfect fulfilment.

Shot in 35mm, this film looks stunning. The opening sequences are so brilliantly choreographed with actors, camera and soundtrack that it alone is a testimony to the filmmaking and storytelling skill of this filmmaker. This film represents an ideal combination all filmmakers should aspire to: brilliant cinematography and music, superb acting, comedy, pathos, biting satire, and most of all, eighty minutes of sheer entertainment. Renato Falc o firmly establishes himself as a writer/director to watch out for. EG

Renato Falc o won the Best Music Award for this film at the Cine Ceara 2002 - Brazil and Best New Director at the Festival de Cinema de Brasilia. He has made two award winning shorts and is completing work on his second feature, Ibere about the Brazilian painter Ibere Camargo.