Helena Solberg Cineclub presents I'LL RAFFLE OFF MY HEART

Open your hearts and your ears! We have an extraordinary event this May at our beloved HELENA SOLBERG CINECLUB. Our friends from the Brazilian choir group Nossa Voz will introduce the screening with a sneak peek of their fabulous brand-new show Music from Brazilian Movies! Following the tune, the documentary I’ll Raffle Off My Heart will take over with a bunch of classics from the Brazilian romantic popular songbook.

There will be drinks and nibbles to welcome the audience, and the screening will start at 6.30pm.

ABOUT THE FILM

I'll Raffle Off My Heart | Vou rifar meu coração

Dir. Ana Rieper | 2011 | Brazil | 78 min. | Portuguese with English subtitles

A journey into the Brazilian lovey-dovey, erotic and affective imagination based on the work of the leading composers in romantic popular music, also known as brega (cheesy). Their lyrics unravel the chronicles of the true dramas and joys of a love life, being catalysts for the fascinating stories being told by ordinary people. The patchwork of characters is completed by alluring stars such as the singers Agnaldo Timóteo, Wando, Amado Batista, Nelson Ned, and Rodrigo Mell, among others.

This look at the world of love, passion and sex brings a more complex and ambiguous perspective that can be both moralistic and transgressive, challenging the prejudice that often relapses in the brega music universe and its fans.

I’ll Raffle Off My Heart has travelled extensively from the prestigious Brasília Film Festival to Atlantidoc (Uruguay), Guadalajara International Film Festival, Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse, IndieLisboa, and Brazilian Film Festival of Vancouver, among others. It won the Best Film award at In-Edit Brazil Music Documentary Film Festival.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Ana Rieper (Rio de Janeiro, 1975) has directed and scripted films and series addressing the relationship between music, popular culture and society in Brazil. She directed the shorts Saara (1998), Velvet (Veluda, 2005), They Killed My Cat (Mataram meu gato, 2006), Sissi (2022) and the full-length docs On the Stream (Na veia do rio, 2002) and Five Times Chico: The San Francisco River and Its People (5x Chico: O velho e sua gente, 2015, co-directed by Gustavo Spolidoro, Camilo Cavalcante, Eduardo Goldenstein & Eduardo Nunes). Her best-known work is I’ll Raffle Off My Heart, with which she started her in-depth exploration of Brazilian music, followed by Clementina (2018) and Nothing Like Before (Nada será como antes: A música do Clube da Esquina, 2023).

ABOUT NOSSA VOZ

Nossa Voz aims to show the richness and diversity of Brazilian popular music to the British public, including songs from many composers and eras in our repertoire, taking our audiences on a musical journey. What links us all is our love of singing Brazilian music and celebrating Brazilian culture within an original and slightly unconventional project, mixing voices and musical arrangements with theatrical elements, even though most of the group had never set foot on a stage before. Founded in 2003, Nossa Voz is an excellent opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds and have fun singing music together. Gui Tavares, the creator and musical director of Nossa Voz, is a Brazilian maestro, songwriter, and musical arranger trained as a classical guitarist and with a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition and Conducting from the University of Campinas. With a great history of performances led by various themes, the vocal group’s current spectacle, Music from Brazilian Movies, is a tribute to Brazilian cinema and will include songs from films such as The Old Lady Spinning (A velha a fiar, Humberto Mauro, 1964), Bye Bye Brazil (Cacá Diegues, 1979), and Brainstorm (Bicho de sete cabeças, Laís Bodanzky, 2000), among others. For the performance at the Embassy of Brazil in London, Nossa Voz will have two songs from I’ll Raffle Off My Heart specially harmonised for the occasion. For further information and auditions, visit www.nossavoz.org

ABOUT THE HELENA SOLBERG CINECLUB

The Cineclub of the Embassy of Brazil in London features a monthly programme of Brazilian and Brazil-related film screenings and talks. It aims to showcase a broad spectrum of films based on a variety of themes, from various periods with distinctive aesthetic and narrative styles, bringing fresh insights into Brazilian film production from the past and the present.

Keep an eye on the Embassy website and our social media channels in order not to miss our first-rate lineup. For updates, you can subscribe to the Helena Solberg Cineclub mailing list at [email protected]. Admission is free, but RSVPing is required through our Eventbrite page.