A falência and Ronaldo Duarte: agency based on a film and a persecuted director during the military dictatorship in Brazil

Abstract

From the short film A falência, by Ronaldo Duarte, winner of the 1967 edition of the Amateur Film Festival organized by Jornal do Brasil, and, based on the notion of agency, this article investigates the film’s production and circulation processes. Following the paths of the images, we investigate the reasons for the film’s censorship and the trajectory of the filmmaker, who was imprisoned and tortured during the military dictatorship. The methodological approach combines film analysis and the use of various documentary sources, showing the challenges faced by young filmmakers starting out on their professional careers amid a period of censorship and persecution by the country’s state agents.

Keywords
A falência ; amateur cinema; military dictatorship; censorship