Black FIlm: Unscreened & Unstreamed, Black Rio! Black Power!

Rio de Janeiro’s soul music scene in the 70s represented an affirmation of Black youth's community identity, political, and racial power. Through Dom Filo’s history, one of the movement’s leaders, reclaims its impact on Brazilian music, the Black movement, and society.

Soul music dances gave rise to the Black Rio Movement after they became spaces for the political affirmation and resistance of the young Black community in Rio de Janeiro in the 70’s. The film reveals just how important the music scene was in fighting for racial equality during Brazil’s military dictatorship and, subsequently, its influence on Hip Hop and Funk music; as well as the impact Black pride had on newer generations and the aesthetic valorization disseminated throughout past decades.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

The film is the result of over 10 years of in-depth research, during which I became profoundly familiar with the subject and realized that Black Rio was the embryo of a contemporary movement through which Blacks on the outskirts of town used culture as a political means. After five decades, the time has come to tell the story of what went on behind the scenes. This accounting is still obscure today, despite being a watershed moment for all those involved and for those who are still with us today. SUBTITLES