Between the stage and the screen: the relations between cinema and "teatro de revista" (Brazilian vaudeville) in Luiz de Barros' comedies

• Grant number: 13/08380-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Cinema
• Principal Investigator: Luciana Sá Leitão Corrêa de Araújo
• Grantee: Evandro Gianasi Vasconcellos
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Luiz de Barros is an important name in the history of Brazilian cinema, having made dozens of films during his long career as a filmmaker. However, he did not dedicate its activities only to cinema, having established also an important career in "teatro de revista" (Brazilian vaudeville) and other stage shows.In the late 1930s, Luiz de Barros directed several films, mostly musicals, for Cinédia, a production company based on Rio de Janeiro. During the 1930s and 40s Cinédia produced a considerable number of films, taking as inspiration the regular production model of the North-American film industry. Much of this filmography consisted of works that had popular features and made use of elements of mass culture, such as music and carnival, to attract the audience.This project aims to study the relationship of the films made by Luiz de Barros and produced by Cinédia with the "teatro de revista" genre, through observation of how the filmmaker articulated in his films characteristic elements of that kind of stage spectacle, both in the narrative level and in relation to production. It will also be investigated the casting of actors and musicians well known to the public due to their stage work. Research in periodicals and archives will contribute to study how these films were exhibited and promoted and to analyze their relation with a context of mass culture.