Cinema – Streams of Images/Imaginariesand talk with Débora Butruce, Heitor Augusto and Thomas Sparfel
On Monday, September 8, the first screening of the film program Streams of Images/Imaginaries will take place, followed by a talk with Débora Butruce, Heitor Augusto and Thomas Sparfel.
Streams of Images/Imaginaries, the film program of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo highlights connections between Brazil, the Caribbean, and West Africa, bringing together the richness of Brazilian and French cultures in a program of films and related activities, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Guimarães Rosa Institute, the French Embassy in Brazil, and the Institut français, as part of the France-Brazil Season. The program draws on the historical ties and strong transcontinental relationship and mutual influence between Brazil, the French Caribbean, and West African countries to establish dialogues between contemporary works from the African continent and historical works from the Cinémathèque Afrique collection, as well as films and videos by historical and contemporary artists from Brazil and the French Caribbean. The screenings will be accompanied by conversations with artists, lectures, and performances.
Each block of the program unfolds into a specific theme that will be explored throughout the Biennial, inviting the public to immerse themselves in its curatorial proposals. The block shown on September 8 is entitled Territory and Sovereignty – Observing different communities in Senegal, Brazil, France, Guadeloupe, and Mozambique, this block highlights the relationship between populations and territories, exposing the role of colonialism and capitalism in depriving people of the right to live with dignity and exercise autonomy over the land, with the screening of films Contras’ City (22’, Djibril Diop Mambety, 1969), Estamos todos aqui [We are all here](20’, Chica Andrade and Rafael Mellim, 2017), Les Princes noirs de Saint-Germain-des-Prés [The Black Princes of Saint-Germain-des-Prés] (14’, Ben Diogaye Beye, 1975), Listen to the Beat of Our Images (11’, Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste, 2021) and Plantar nas estrelas [Planting Among the Stars] (11’, Geraldo Sarno, Brazil/Mozambique, 1979).
Débora Butruce is an audiovisual preservationist, film restorer, and independent curator. She holds a PhD in Audiovisual Media and Processes from ECA-USP and has 25 years of experience in audiovisual preservation, working with Brazil’s leading audiovisual heritage institutions. Her restoration work on Brazilian cinema classics has been screened worldwide at film festivals and in Brazilian and international commercial exhibition circuits. Creator of the Mostra Internacional de Filmes Domésticos [International Domestic Film Festival] and the Coleção Cinema Campineiro project, she is a founding member of the Associação Brasileira de Preservação Audiovisual (ABPA) [Brazilian Association for Audiovisual Preservation] and is part of its current board of directors.
Heitor Augusto works as a curator, creative consultant, writer, and translator. His work explores Black film through an expansive approach, with a keen interest in questioning the binary expectations of positive versus negative representation. He has actively worked to bring visibility to Black Brazilian filmmakers, a dedication that resulted in the publication Cinemateca Negra (Black Film Archive, 2024). In addition to working in Brazil, Augusto has programmed and lectured in Canada, France, Germany, and the United States. His current research focuses on the trailblazing Black Queer character Vera Verão.
Thomas Sparfel holds a degree from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Lyon and a Master’s in Communication from the University Lumière. He was a producer at the Groupama Gan Foundation, a programmer for the Open Air Festival at Parc de La Villette, and an Audiovisual Advisor at the French Embassies in Chile, Morocco, and Brazil. He was the executive producer of the documentary series Amanajé, o Mensageiro do Futuro (2019) and co-produced the fiction feature Fogaréu (2022).
Service
Cinema – Streams of Images/Imaginaries and talk with Débora Butruce, Heitor Augusto and Thomas Sparfel
36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice
September 8, 2025
Monday, 2:30 pm
Auditorium
Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
Ibirapuera Park, gate 3
Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, s/n
São Paulo, SP
free admission