By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Running from May 10th to May 22nd in Caixa Cultural Rio de Janeiro in Centro, the Making-Of film festival will explore the production of cinema through a debate and the screening of movies which take a behind the scenes look at the film industry.
“The idea is to present the different approaches and filmmaking processes to the public, exposing it to a variety of movie sets, writers’ rooms, and production meetings,” said the festival’s curator Jaiê Saavedra in a released statement.
“The films are made by competent filmmakers who had access to crucial moments in the history of modern cinema; like watching Werner Herzog speak with indigenous peoples working as extras in the Amazon during the filming of ‘Fitzcarraldo’; Coppola dealing with health problems of its main star and over budget problems with ‘Apocalypse Now’; or Terry Gilliam battling his personal demons through an analogy to the character of Don Quixote.”
The festival features the screenings of a total of fourteen films: “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse”, “It’s All True”, “Burden of Dreams”, “The Godfather Family: A Look Inside”, “Empire of Dreams”, “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner”, “That Moment – A Magnolia Diary”, “Full Tilt Boogie”, “Jodorowski’s Dune”, “Lost in La Mancha”, “Snowball Effect”, “Making The Shining”, “Apartamento 608”, and “The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?”
A 2015 documentary, “The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened?” chronicles the proposed production of the film “Superman Lives.” Meant to be directed by Tim Burton and starring Nicolas Cage, the production of the film was cancelled three weeks before filming began in 1998.
“Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” documents Francis Ford Coppola’s trails during the production of his 1979 film “Apocalypse Now” and “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner” takes an in-depth look at the production of Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction classic.
The 1998 documentary “Full Tilt Boogie” documents the production of Robert Rodriguez’s “From Dusk Till Dawn” while “That Moment – A Magnolia Diary” is a 2000 documentary that follows director Paul Thomas Anderson during the shooting of his film “Magnolia.”
The 1993 documentary, “It’s All True” tells the story of Orson Welles’ famous unfinished film and the 1982 documentary, “Burden of Dreams” chronicles director Werner Herzog’s setbacks during the production of his 1982 film “Fitzcarraldo.”
“These are movies detailing the small joys, frustrations, failures and victories of the day to day movie set,” Saavedra said of the selection of films for the festival.
In addition to the screenings, on May 12th at 6:15PM, the festival will present a debate with Saavedra, director Beth Formaginni, and journalist and film critique Gilberto Ferreira da Silva Jr.
For the complete programming schedule, screening times, and additional information see the Caixa Cultural Rio de Janeiro website and its Facebook page.
What: Making-Of Film Festival
When: May 10th – May 22nd
Where: Caixa Cultural Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alm. Barroso, 25 – Sobreloja – Centro
Entrance: R$2 – R$4 for each screening.