Skip to main content
Samba Infinito film image; sad little girl sitting on the shoulders of a man in a crowd

Samba Infinito

North American Premiere

Amid the revelry of Rio’s Carnival, a wandering boy chances upon a weary street sweeper whose long-repressed grief derails his humble obligations.

Director
Cast

Alexandre Amador, Camila Pitanga, Miguel Leonardo, Gilberto Gil

Credits
Country of Origin

Brazil/France

Year

2024

Language

In Portuguese with English subtitles

18+
16 min
Drama Experimental & Avant Garde Shorts

Credits & Director

Producer

Renan Barbosa Brandão, Rafael Teixeira, Leonardo Martinelli, Lucas H. Rossi, Clara Marquardt, Justin Pechberty, Damien Megherbi

Screenwriter

Leonardo Martinelli

Cinematography

João Atala

Editor

Lobo Mauro

Original Music

André Mendonça, Fabio Carnèiro

Art Director

Ananias de Caldas, Brian Thurler

Leonardo Martinelli headshot

Leonardo Martinelli

Leonardo Martinelli is a filmmaker from Rio de Janeiro. His shorts have been selected at festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Locarno, Toronto, San Sebastián, BFI London, Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs, Montreal, Biarritz, and Toulouse, among others, and his film Fantasma Neon (2021) won the Golden Leopard for Best International Short Film at the Locarno Film Festival. He holds a master’s degree in communications from PUC-Rio and is currently developing his first feature film, which was selected for the Locarno Residency and the Hubert Bals Fund.

Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre

NAZA
Naza film image; two people sitting in a foggy night with skyscrapers in the background

NAZA

Dir. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
80 min

NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
The History of Concrete
The History of Concrete film image; man smoothing just-poured concrete sidewalk

The History of Concrete

Dir. John Wilson
101 min

After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
La Bola Negra
La Bola Negra film image; man playing a trumpet

La Bola Negra

Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
155 min

A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Shadow of a Doubt

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
108 min

In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Best Years of Our Lives

Dir. William Wyler
170 min

One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)

Dir. Brad Bird
119 min

In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema