“Casa de Areia” (“House of Sand”)

02/14/2012
On February 14 at 7PM, World Artists Experiences will screen the 2005 Brazilian film “Casa de Areia” (“House of Sand”) as part of the “Bridges to the World” Fourth Annual International Film Series. Films will be shown in Frostburg State University’s Lane University Center Room 111.

World Artists Experiences and the International Division of Maryland’s Office of the Secretary of State, in conjunction with Frostburg University, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Southern Maryland Higher Education Center, Salisbury University, and Towson University, invite the public to attend free screenings of five international films, one each from Austria, Brazil, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. The “Bridges to the World International Film Series” is a statewide, month-long initiative in recognition of the State’s global reach and a reflection of those connections here in Maryland.

The series will run for five weeks from February 13 through March 16 at five venues throughout the state and feature films chosen by the embassies of the respective countries. Each film will be introduced, screened, and followed by a discussion. Presentations begin at 7PM. All films will be shown with English subtitles.

Tickets are not required for these free screenings; however seating is on a first-come basis.

For more information, call the Lane University Center at 301-687-4049.

ABOUT THE FILM
Casa de Areia (2005)
[House of Sand]
Brazil
Co-Produced and Directed by Andrucha Waddington
Introduced by Dr. Lea Ramsdell, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Director of Latin American Studies, Towson University

“House of Sand” offers a hypnotic meditation on matriarchy, survival, and the acceptance of life’s inexplicable twists. Set in the surreal desert landscape of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park on the northern coast of Brazil, this visually breathtaking film follows three generations of women as they struggle with their isolated existence. A pregnant Áurea (Fernanda Torres) and her mother Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) are brought to the region in 1910 by Áurea’s fanatical husband. After his sudden death, the two women learn to co-exist with the “quilombolas” (runaway slaves) who inhabit the region. Áurea has a daughter (named Maria after her grandmother), visits a group of scientists studying a solar eclipse, loses her mother, falls in love, watches her daughter grow up, raises an adoptive family, and meets a military officer looking for a missing pilot - all as 60 years invariably flow by like the constantly shifting sand dunes. “House of Sand” lacks a narrative and instead focuses on the metaphoric relationship between the landscape, time, and the three women. The film builds not to a climax but to quiet understanding, an existential intuition, of what life offers (and fails to offer) and how we adapt.

“House of Sand” features Fernanda Montenegro, Brazil’s “First Lady” of Theatre and Television, perhaps best known for her Oscar nominated performance in “Central Station” (1998) and her real-life daughter Fernanda Torres, international award-winning actress including Cannes in 1986. In a beautiful casting contrivance, these two actresses play the various generations of the same characters. Montenegro plays Dona Maria, the older Áurea, and the older Maria; Torres plays Áurea and her daughter Maria. This doubling (especially the final scene where Montenegro plays both roles) echoes Waddington’s thematic emphasis on time and circularity - everything changes but nothing changes; momentous global events are as significant as intimate personal exchanges.

Andrucha Waddington, along with Walter Salles, Fernanado Meirelles, and Paulo Caldas, is one of the biggest names in the new generation of Brazilian filmmakers. He is also the husband of Fernanda Torres and son-in-law of Fernanada Montenegro; “House of Sand” was written for them. The film also provides a feminist perspective in which men keep upsetting nature’s balance either through war, scientific exploration, or adventure and women find a way to make sense of it. Men may make things happen, but women make life happen.

“House of Sand” was nominated for 12 Cinema Brazil Grand Prizes. It is rated R for one scene of graphic sexuality. The film runs 115 minutes. You can watch the official trailer at www.youtube.com.




World Artists Experiences is a non-profit organization which bridges international understanding through cultural and citizen diplomacy in schools, colleges, and communities to foster respect, trust, hope, and peace in the world. The organization’s four goals are: Ambassador Series of World Experiences in communities; Cultural Immersion opportunities; International Education; and Sustainable Development. For further information, contact Betty McGinnis at wae@comcast.net or visit www.worldartists.org.

The International Division for Maryland's Office of the Secretary of State strives to foster global awareness and increase the level and consistency of open dialogue and exchange between Maryland's citizens and institutions and their international counterparts. Among its responsibilities is the administration of the Maryland Sister States Program. The Maryland Sister States Program has been in existence for thirty-one years and currently includes nine active relationships including partnerships in Brazil, China, Estonia, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Vietnam. For more information contact Mendy Nitsch, Director of International Affairs for the Office of the Secretary of State, at mnitsch@sos.state.md.us.