Twenty Years Later

“One of the ten greatest films of all time.”—Kleber Mendonça Filho, director of Neighboring Sounds

Unanimously hailed a classic of the documentary field, Twenty Years Later powerfully announced Eduardo Coutinho as one of the most significant filmmakers in Brazil (and the world). In 1964 Coutinho started making a feature film about the assassination of a rural militant activist. The cast was composed of local nonprofessionals, including the activist’s widow. Filming was stopped by Brazil’s 1964 military coup as the activist’s family went into hiding and all of the director’s footage (except for one reel) was seized. Twenty years later, as the dictatorship was winding down, Coutinho tracked down the widow and her family and showed her the footage. The film not only documents her reaction, but serves as one of the defining portraits of the two decades that Brazil spent under the dictatorship. (119 mins., 35mm)