High-Rise
Um Lugar ao Sol
International Showcase
(Brazil, 2009, 71 mins)
In Portuguese with English subtitles
HDCAM - 29.97
North American Premiere
Directed By: Gabriel Mascaro
Executive Producers: Stella Zimmerman, Rachel Ellis
Producer: Gabriel Mascaro
Screenwriter: Gabriel Mascaro
Cinematographer: Pedro Sotero
Editor: Marcelo Pedroso
Music: lezu Kaeru, Luiz Pessoa
You’ve seen them lining the prime beachfront real estate in Rio de Janeiro: bright shiny high-rise apartment buildings that are miles and worlds away from the oft-filmed slums filled with decaying low-rise tenements. But who lives there high above the palm trees, white sand, and urban chaos? And what does it mean to have a penthouse in poverty-filled Brazil?
Shooting on film and video, young director Gabriel Mascaro weaves together a visually striking and politically pointed tapestry of resort-ready vistas, gorgeous sunsets, harsh construction sites, and penthouse resident interviews that speak volumes about Brazil’s class divide. As those chosen few candidly explain, height has its privileges, including quiet, privacy, swimming pools, a sense of accomplishment, and the daily ego boost of having a penthouse address. Nevertheless, whether they’re discussing the merits of elevators or thoughts on Brazilian politics, Mascaro’s subjects begin to inadvertently create a more damning portrayal of an alienated elite that is perpetuating the social breakdown they decry. The result is a hypnotic and revealing examination of the real view from the top.
Host Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles
If you like this film, try these:
(Netherlands , 2008, 84mins)
(France , Cameroon , 2009, 70mins)
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