Only 1,086 films were made by black people in Brazil, says study

This Monday (20), Black Awareness Day is celebrated. The date was chosen to mark the death of Zumbi dos Palmares, one of Brazil’s greatest black leaders in 1965. Even with years of struggle, black people still need to overcome racism in different parts of society, as well as in productions. audiovisual and cinema.

Of the films made in Brazil, only 1,086 were made in Brazil. The information comes from an unprecedented survey carried out by Cinemateca Negra, which mapped films produced by black people in the country between 1949 and 2022.

The count takes into account long, short and medium-length films directed by one or more black people since the 1940s. The study was carried out by NICHO 54, an institute that supports the careers of black people.

The survey carried out by Cinemateca also showed that this only became popular after 2010. Of the 1,086 films, 83% of all production appeared in the decade between 2010 and 2020. “Historically, there is a low prevalence of feature films produced by this audience in Brazil” , the study researchers explained.

Until the 1960s, only six films had been directed by black people. Between 1970 and 1990, the average was 19 productions per decade. In 2000, the number jumped to 116, while in 2010 it went to 586.

“The first data [do levantamento] reveal how racism negatively impacts the intellectual production of black people linked to the audiovisual scene in Brazil and show the possible positive impact of affirmative policies”, explains Heitor Augusto, one of the researchers responsible for the research.

*Published by Giovanna Bronze