Brazil: 2,000 film copies destroyed in the fire at the São Paulo Cinematheque
An image of the fire in the Sao Paulo film library warehouse caught by firefighters.
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Text by: RFI Follow
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Some 2,000 copies of films were destroyed in a fire in a warehouse at the Cinémathèque de São Paulo.
"A tragedy announced" according to the filmmakers, who denounce an abandonment of the world of culture by the Brazilian authorities.
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For more than two hours, Brazilian firefighters battled the flames, but an entire part of a warehouse at the Cinémathèque in São Paulo,
Brazil
, was still devastated.
In the fire on Thursday, around 2,000 copies of films were destroyed.
The warehouse housed copies of films, many of which were rare and sometimes in better condition than the originals, according to specialists.
It is about a "
announced tragedy
", according to the Brazilian scenario writers.
“
The burning of the São Paulo Cinematheque is a crime against the culture of the country.
The contempt for the art and the memory of Brazil leads to this: the progressive death of the national culture
”,
criticized the governor of Sao Paulo
, João Doria.
"
It's as if the country no longer had a family album
"
For months, filmmakers, artists and employees have been denouncing a policy of “
dismantling
” the Cinematheque, and more broadly the cultural sector by the Brazilian government.
In July 2020, the São Paulo public prosecutor's office launched legal action against the federal government for “
abandoning
” the Cinémathèque, questioning the withholding of resources and the absence of a manager due to a legal imbroglio.
The following month, the institution ceased to function and 41 officials resigned.
Recently, a "Manifesto of the workers of the Brazilian Cinematheque" had warned against the risk of fire in the building due to the lack of care for "
the material, the equipment, the databases and the buildings
".
In recent years, four fires and one flood have affected various buildings of this cultural institution, founded in 1940.
A fire at the Brazilian Cinemateque last night in São Paulo.
4 tons of materials, 2K prints lost.
After the fire at the National Museum and multiple calls 4help from the film community (20 days ago I called it out in Cannes), nothing done.
It doesn't even feel like an accident.
- Kleber Mendonça Filho (@kmendoncafilho) July 30, 2021
During the last Cannes film festival, the filmmaker
Kleber Mendonça
raised his voice against the “
sabotage of the support system for culture
” and the closure of the Cinémathèque.
“
It's as if the country no longer has a family album.
It is not just a place of deposit.
It is a living place, with the memory of the country
”, denounced the director
of
Aquarius
and
Bacurau
.
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Brazil
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Jair Bolsonaro