Tour through the abandoned theaters of Recife, Brazil, with Kleber Mendonça Filho as he reckons with architecture, art, and the ghosts of the past.
Kleber Mendonça Filho is Brazil’s most acclaimed director, with numerous remarkable films including Bacurau (2019), Aquarius (2016), and Neighboring Sounds(2012). His latest, Pictures of Ghosts, is irresistible to anyone who loves movie theaters as much as they love movies. From his family’s apartment in Recife, the director reflects on his relationship with his mother before heading out into the city’s abandoned downtown to remember the movie palaces of his youth. But his curiosity is after something deeper than nostalgia and derelict buildings. With playful and innovative vision, Mendonça Filho examines life itself—from architecture and gentrification to the haunted places of our pasts, the relationship between cinema and religion, and more. The film builds to one of the most surprising and delightful finales in recent memory. In Portuguese with English subtitles. (93 mins., DCP)
Before the film, we’ll show a slideshow of photographs of former Columbus movie theaters from the collection of the Wexner Center’s former projectionist Bruce Bartoo. After the film, Bruce will give a short presentation of select theaters. If you have photographs of former Columbus movie theaters (before or after) that you’d like to have included in the slideshow, send them to fvweb@wexarts.org, and join us to share your memories.
Tickets start at $5 for students.
