July and August: very bountiful months at the ICBIE.
The months of July and August were full of activities and events at the ICBIE.
Starting from the month of July the latest edition of the second year of the “ICBIE Ponto de Cultura da Ribeira” project began, with the realization of a series of events and activities whose theme was “Cinema and documentary”. All the events took place at the Institute’s headquarters and were always free for the public.
The program included a documentary film exhibition, a laboratory of images and videos, round tables, dance, theater and much more.
The documentaries selected for the exhibition were chosen by the artistic director Pietro Gallina who prioritized diversified themes, always aiming to offer a good dose of knowledge to the audience. Titles such as “Bahia de todos os Sambas”, “The History of Things”, “A Casa do Mestre André”, “Omolú – Dança, Ritual, Vida”, “The world according to Monsanto” were included in the program. And at the end of the projections there have always been interesting debates and discussions with the audience on the respective topics covered by the documentaries.
“The history of things” and “A Casa do Mestre André” were specifically chosen for the children’s public. Following the great success of the two projections, on the same day, schools, local institutions such as ABEAC, Municipal School Eloina Barradas, Municipal School Maria José de Paula, asked for some replicas, for which four more screenings were made on days other than those programmed, in order to satisfy the requests of the growing public.
Image labs and introduction to video editing met expectations and won a record number of registrations, so much so that there was a need to form a waiting list for those interested. The facilitator was Stefano Barbi Cinti, a professional Video-Maker, with a long experience in Italian television (RAI) where he worked as video reporter. The meetings were held on alternate days, with an average duration of 3 hours, and in some cases extended for the whole day depending on the need. The interest of the students has inspired the organizers so much that the laboratories have expanded beyond the programmed days.
Taking advantage of the enthusiasm shown during the workshops, the team evolved, with the approval and support of the Institute’s directorate, creating the ICBIE Audiovisual Unit. From now on, the collective will work for the production of audiovisual material for the promotion of the activities of the ICBIE, as well as for the creation of awareness and information material on current and interesting topics for the whole community.
The artistic interventions have seen the participation of the pupils and collaborators of the ICBIE, like Talita Sueli and Luiz Henrique, who presented their dance show “Transmutações” provoking the complete enthusiasm of the public. The Little Theater and Music Company of of the ICBIE had a strong presence with a masked show, directed by Alex Nascimento.
The closing of the “Cinema and documentary” event was on 19 August, a Sunday, starting from 5 PM, when everyone could appreciate the institutional video produced by the students of the laboratories. It was so exciting to see our work represented in a mini documentary. Immediately after the screening all those present were able to offer their advice and opinions on how to improve the video. And to end the evening, a delicious coffee of thanks was offered, showing Marlene de Souza’s culinary skills: sweets, cakes, munguns, sandwiches and juices made everyone happy.
In addition to the programming of “Cinema and Documentary” many other activities have been realized in space. The ICBIE welcomed the Spanish artist Javier Zorrilla from Madrid for 2 days, who created a watercolor masterclass, bringing the public of the upper city of Salvador to know our space. The organization of the activity has been promoted and curated by our collaborator Gessica Lima and by Sergio Bordim.
During the month of July, the ICBIE was also a place of discussion and political debate, with the theme “The current political context” that saw the participation of the Deputy Federal Alice Portugal and other political figures of Salvador. The organization of the event was the responsibility of our collaborator Jair Fonseca, president of Itapagipe Distrital. The space was filled with public and community participation was quite active, with many important questions and reflections.
And we cannot forget to mention our traditional language courses that started the second semester in August. It’s nice to see the full halls and the busy students. The courses in basic and intermediate Italian, and basic English I and II are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at night and even Saturday mornings, having the wonderful Marlene de Souza as their teacher.
We started the second half of 2018 full of novelties and events. We hope it is an excellent premonition for the months ahead.
Meg Boaventura
