Observation and thought: montages by women in contemporary Brazilian documentaries

Abstract

The overthrow of Dilma Rousseff has led to an unusual number of films being made. A considerable number of these were directed and edited by women - Karen Akerman (Maria Ramos' O Processo, 2017), Karen Harley (Petra Costa's Democracia em Vertigem, 2019), Vânia Debs and Anna Muylaert (in Muylaert and Politi's Alvorada, 2020) and Paula Fabiana (2016) who also directed Filme Manifesto. We will analyse the predominant editing operations in these films, observing their specificities and stylistic traits. O processo creates the sensation of exhaustive observation and the punctual contrast with the surroundings of the congress; Democracia em Vertigem uses a non-linear montage marked by ellipses motivated by the director's memories and the anti-democratic plot, in a complex articulation of images and sounds aimed at engagement and the creation of meaning in the manner of the Soviets; Alvorada looks at the daily life of Dilma's residence in a narrative line that progressively emphasizes the president's ouster); Filme Manifesto articulates, in a linear way, the demonstrations up until Dilma's ouster, contrasting them and situating them using archive material. We will also look at the film Sementes - mulheres pretas no poder (Seeds - black women in power) by Éthel Oliveira [...].