Once Upon a Time in Brazil

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production year

1984

Runtime

16 min

Category

film

Genre

étude

Typology

featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent filmshort

Original title

Stalo se v Brazílii

Czech title

Stalo se v Brazílii

English title

Once Upon a Time in Brazil

Synopsis

In a pensioners’ club, Jan tells his friend Josef about the countries he travelled through. He even visited India, Ceylon and Brazil. He is sixty two now and already prefers to stay in his home country because it is the best. But he knows a lot about Brazil and he loved it there. He convinces his neighbour to take as a lodger a Brazilian student named Pablo, the youngest son of his friend. Josef would like to have a chat with the young man but Jan indirectly forbids him to, claiming that the student does not speak a word of Czech. In a garden shed, Pablo discovers some books, also among them a pre-war information brochure for Czechoslovak immigrants to Brazil. The curious Josef, however, eventually finds the student and talks to him briefly. Pablo is startled by his questions about the friendship between his father and Jan, but he does not say anything in particular. When the two pensioners meet again, Jan is taken aback by the information about the discussion. He finds the student and apologizes for lying about visiting his home country – he always only longed for it. Pablo invites him to a celebration in a carnival style which he organized for his student colleagues. A year after Pablo’s departure for home, Jan also confesses to Josef.

Cast

Jaroslav Radimecký

důchodce Jan

Bohumil Vávra

důchodce Josef Vávra

Manuel Calvit

brazilský student Pablo

Blanka Vikusová

vedoucí klubu důchodců

Petr Novotný

Jan jako kluk

Crew and creators

Screenstory

Manuel Calvit

Screenplay

Manuel Calvit

Director of Photography

Jaromír Herskovič

Camera Operator

Sead Muhtarević

Film Editor

Igor Hamko

Production Manager

M. Rosenthalová, Václav Hrdina

Pedagogical management

Jiří Sequens (režie), Jana Semschová, Jan Kališ (kamera), Alois Fišárek (střih)

Production info

Original Title

Stalo se v Brazílii

Czech Title

Stalo se v Brazílii

English Title

Once Upon a Time in Brazil

Category

film

Typology

featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent film

Genre

étude

Student film

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production Year

1984

Production

Studio FAMU

Technical info

Duration typology

short film

Duration in minutes

16 min

Original length in metres

458 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech