The 17th edition of the Fest Aruanda do Audiovisual Brasileiro has already received, until the 2nd, the submission of 535 films by Brazilian filmmakers, most of them short. The festival will take place in Paraíba, from December 1st to 7th. Due to several requests from producers and directors, the organization of Fest Aruanda decided to extend registration until the 27th. site event official.
The executive producer of the festival, Lúcio Vilar, told Agência Brasil that the expectation is to approach, this year, 700 entries. In 2022, the festival will once again be 100% in person and will take place at Cinépolis, at Manaíra Shopping, in João Pessoa, with free invitations distributed one hour before each session.
“The festival will offer, for a week, free sessions to the public, aiming at democratization”, said Vilar.
Tributes
This year, Aruanda will have post-mortem honorees, which are the journalist, poet, critic and filmmaker from Paraíba, Jurandir Moura, who died prematurely in 1980, at the age of 40, in a car accident; and professor at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), filmmaker and theater director Eliezer Rolim, who died this year from complications from covid-19. Three short films by Jurandir Moura will be screened in special sessions of the festival.
Last year, the festival carried out a historical review of national cinema, based on the tribute to actor Othon Bastos. In this 16th edition, the festival had its visual identity inspired by the cangaceiro and the film God and the Devil in the Land of the Sunfrom 1964, by director Glauber Rocha, who immortalized the image of Othon Bastos.
Lúcio Vilar said that, like any festival, Aruanda works a lot with contemporary productions, but always has an eye on the history of Brazilian cinema or cinematography in Paraíba.
“The festival is always guided by this need to return to our own history, even because it has not yet been properly told, especially the cinematography of Paraíba. And the festival is always an opportunity to revive names, trajectories, films and actors,” he said.
In 2020, due to the onset of the health crisis, the festival was held in a hybrid format, with only the opening and closing sessions in person. The rest, encompassing debates, round tables, conferences and workshops, took place virtually. In 2021, the event was also in a hybrid format, but with a greater capacity for in-person sessions.
News
Lúcio Vilar revealed that this year the Aruanda organization intends to work with TikTok, a media application to create and share short videos, similar to what is already happening with other festivals, such as the Gramado Film Festival. In partnership with the Secretary of Education of Paraíba, the idea is to promote a contest to encourage public school students to produce films of up to 3 minutes, which can be edited in this format and compete for prizes.
Another novelty of the 2022 edition is the launch of the AruandaPlay Platform, created in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic, but now on a permanent basis.
“We think it can offer screens to those who don’t have screens, all year round. Streaming is a trend that is here to stay. It is no longer a trend. It is a reality. And these platforms saved us from complete boredom during the pandemic,” said the executive producer of Fest Aruanda.
The expectation is that the AruandaPlay platform will be on the air until next September, constituting an additional tool and linked to the festival, with other focuses, including education.
Once again, the event is sponsored by Energisa/Usina Cultural, Cagepa-PB, PBGás and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), with the seal of approval from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB).
