From the "On The Scene" Archives:

Compiled by Anthony Kaufman

>> Brazil's New Cinema, Now and Then, at NYC's MOMA

This Friday, New York's Museum of Modern Art will showcase the latest and best of Brazilian cinema in a 59-feature and 16-short film festival titled Cinema Novo and Beyond. With Walter Salles' festival crowd pleaser "Central Station" about to open on U.S. screens later this month, the festival is a timely nod to what came before and what is to come. The program spans the past four decades of Brazilian filmmaking, beginning with the Cinema Novo, a wave of social and political breakthrough work from directors like Nelson Pereira dos Santos ("Barren Lives", 1963) and Glauber Rocha ("Black God, White Devil", 1964) whose dictum "An idea in your head and a camera in hand..." infused the spirit of the movement. "Cinema Novo created a remarkable body of work -- visually stunning, emotionally exuberant, politically provocative, and uniquely Brazilian -- that retains its vitality and power today," says Jytte Jensen, Film and Video Associate Curator, who organized the exhibition.

Also screening in the series are a number of more modern hits, carrying on the legacy of important Brazilian filmmaking. "Four Days in September" director Bruno Baretto's most popular Brazilian film of all time, "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" (1976), Carlos Diegues' "Bye Bye Brazil" (1980) and Hector Babenco's acclaimed "Pixote" (1981) will all screen. While representatives of the 90's resurgence in Brazilian cinema are reflected in Walter Salles' 1995 low budget thriller "Foreign Land," Beto Brant's New Directors/New Films premiere "Belly Up" (1997), Jose Araújo's "Landscapes of Memory" (1996), Sandra Werneck's "Dictionary of Love" (1996) and Fabio Barretor's Academy Award nominated "O Quatrilho" (1996). U.S. premieres include Carlos Reichenbach's "Alma Corsaria", Julio Bressane's "Miramar" (1997), and Ugo Giorgetti's "Soccer Players" (1997). Many of the directors will be on hand to introduce and discuss their work.

After premiering at The Museum of Modern Art, the series will travel to some twenty venues, both domestically and internationally. Distributed by Cowboy Booking International, the tour will include UCLA's Film and Television Archive, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many others.

>> Italy's Emerging 8 Showcased in San Francisco

Eight films from new Italian directors will be presented in San Francisco under a program called N.I.C.E (New Italian Cinema Events) from November 18-22. Presented by the San Francisco Film Society, in association with the Italian Cultural Institute under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy, the films were selected from Italian entries at the Cannes and Venice film festivals by a jury of Italian and American film critics and journalists. Film Society, Artistic Director Peter Scarlet noted, "Several of these films will be receiving their North American Premieres, and a few will be getting their first United States screenings." The lucky eight include: Gala Closer Marco Risi's "Kaputt Mundi," Fulvio Wetzl's "First the Music, then the Words," Marco Turco's "Belleville," Vincenzo Terracciano's "Acts of Justice," Ferdinando Orgnani's "Open Sea," Davide Manuli's "Go Around the World," Antonio Capuano's "Napoli Dust," and Mimmo Calopresti's critically praised, "Notes of Love," whose last film, "The Second Time" was a highlight of last year's N.I.C.E. event. New Italian short films will screen before the features, many directors will be in attendance, and a special award for best film will be given out, as selected by the San Francisco and New York audiences.

For more information 415.931.FILM or www.sfiff.org.