Alvorada (film) explained

Alvorada
Director:	Hugo Niebeling
Producer:	Hugo Niebeling
Music:	Oskar Sala Various Composers
Cinematography:	Antonio Estêvão Anders Lembcke Herbert Müller
Editing:	Hugo Niebeling Gertrud Petermann
Studio:	Jean Manzon Films Mannesmann
Runtime:	77 minutes
Country:	West Germany
Language:	German

Alvorada - Brazil's Changing Face^[1] is a 1962 West German documentary film directed by Hugo Niebeling. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature^[2] and was entered in the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

Overview

The film offers an overview of Brazil, from the history of the country to the most recent developments at the time of its making - including industrialization and the new capital Brasília. It starts with an overview of the country itself and its history, and then proceeds to the social structure and social changes brought by industrialization and other developments in recent years.^[4]

Style

The film follows neither the camera and editing conventions of documentary films of the early 1960s nor their narrative style. Instead, it uses experimental camera and editing techniques, often set to different kinds of music and electronic sounds by Oskar Sala. The voice-over-narration (provided by Hugo Niebeling himself) only occasionally tells the viewer details about what they are seeing, often letting impressions speak for themselves. According to Hugo Niebeling, due to its tight connection of music and visual style, Alvorada is also his first "music film".^[5]

Reception

• Melbourne International Film Festival: "A film that does not attempt to give a reasoned, historical or geographical account, but reproduces the visual and emotional impact on a sensitive mind. No technique, no angle, no method of camera transport has been left unexplored, (...) an exciting and beautiful kaleidoscope of images."^[6]

Awards

• 1962: Oscar Nomination in the Category: "Documentary Feature". (Feature)^[7]
• 1963: Bundesfilmpreis - Filmband in Gold: Best Director (Hugo Niebeling)^[8]
• 1963: Bundesfilmpreis - Filmband in Gold: Best feature-length cultural- and documentary-film (Mannesmann AG)^[9]
• 1963: Cannes Film Festival - Official Selection^[10]
• 1964: Melbourne International Film Festival - Official Selection^[11]

Notes and References

1. Web site: NY Times: About "Alvorada" . 19 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151222220812/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/300297/Alvorada-brazil-s-Changing-Face-/details . 22 December 2015 . Movies & TV Dept. . . 2015 . dead .
2. Web site: NY Times: Alvorada . 8 November 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110521081709/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/300297/Alvorada-brazil-s-Changing-Face-/details . 21 May 2011 . Movies & TV Dept. . . 2011 . dead .
3. Web site: Festival de Cannes: Alvorada . 25 February 2009. festival-cannes.com.
4. Web site: German Historic Museum: Website of the Hugo Niebeling retrospective 2013, featuring an article about Alvorada. . 19 September 2014.
5. Web site: German Historic Museum: Website of the Hugo Niebeling retrospective 2013, featuring an article about Alvorada. . 19 September 2014.
6. Web site: Melbourne International Film Festival: Site for Alvorada, with commentary on the film . 20 September 2014.
7. News: 35th Academy Awards: List of Nominees and Winners. 19 September 2014.
8. News: Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners. 19 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150607133843/http://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/fpsuche.html?bstb=&search=Niebeling&fdb_jahr=. 7 June 2015. dead.
9. News: Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners. 19 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150607140220/http://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/fpsuche.html?bstb=&search=Brasilien&fdb_jahr=. 7 June 2015. dead.
10. News: Cannes Film Festival 1963: List of Films in Competition. 19 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20161031054109/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1963/inCompetition.html. 31 October 2016. dead.
11. News: Melbourne Film Festival: Entry for Alvorada. 19 September 2014.