Pictures of Ghosts

Brazil’s official selection for the 2024 Academy Awards, PICTURES OF GHOSTS, from acclaimed director Kleber Mendonca Filho (BACURAU, AQUARIUS and NEIGHBORING SOUNDS), is a multidimensional journey through time, sound, architecture and filmmaking, set in the urban landscape of Recife, Brazilian coastal capital of Pernambuco: a historical and human territory, examined through the great movie theatres that served as spaces of conviviality during the 20th century. Having hosted dreams and progress, these places have also embodied a major transformation on social practices. Combining archive documentary, mystery, film clips and personal memories, PICTURES OF GHOSTS is a map of a city through the lens of cinema.

“A deeply personal, intricately constructed meditation… There’s an elegiac cast to PICTURES OF GHOSTS — most of the once-bustling cinemas are now derelict as are his old stamping grounds — yet the vigor of the filmmaking is a testament to how our beloveds never truly leave us.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times