Pictures of Ghosts
1h 33m
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho • 2023 • Brazil
The latest from acclaimed Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho (BACURAU, AQUARIUS) is a multidimensional journey across time, sound, architecture, and filmmaking that explores the rich, complicated history of the filmmaker’s home city of Recife—the coastal capital of the state of Pernambuco—through the great movie theaters that served as spaces of conviviality during the twentieth century. Paeans to dreams and progress, these temples of cinema have also come to reflect major shifts in Brazilian society and politics. Combining archival documentary, mystery, film clips, and personal memories, PICTURES OF GHOSTS is a map of a city through the lens of cinema, offering a delightful tour in the company of a master storyteller.