The Clown
SBS 2: Thursday July 3, 11pm
A clown undergoes an existential crisis in Selton Melo’s film. Melo plays the melancholy funny man, who tires of life on the road and longs to lay down roots in the mountainous countryside of Minas Gerais, Brazil’s third largest city. Our movie presenter, Fernanda dePaula, has a special connection to the film; the circus scenes were shot at a family property owned by her cousin, and bring back cherished memories of the spectacle of the circus coming to town.
The Story of Me
SBS 2: Friday July 4, 11pm
The Story of Me celebrates the life of renowned Brazilian writer Roberto Carlos Ramos, whose path was transformed when a teacher persevered with him and encouraged his creative storytelling. Ramos was born into poverty to a single mother who placed him in government care in the hope that he would receive a better upbringing than she was able to provide. However, the home was part-school and part-juvenile detention centre, and offered a limited pathway for its students to realise their dreams. A French teacher undertaking research at the home takes Roberto under her wing and encourages the boy’s natural storytelling instincts. The Story of Me blends humour with empathy for the children of Brazil’s favelas, to tell its inspirational story of the transformative power of education.
