Professor Richard Peña attracts crowds in Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro
Richard Peña, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia's School of The Arts, made one of his highly anticipated visits to Brazil last week.
The renowned film curator and director emeritus of the New York Film Festival is an old acquaintance of Brazilian cinephiles known for his knowledge on Brazilian Cinema. As Peña is fluent in Portuguese, his programs in Brazil are very popular. This time he came for a full week.
After going to Argentina and Uruguay, invited by the U.S. State Department, he went to Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, where he gave a lecture on the American Avant-Garde at Cinemateca Capitólio and a day-long Curatorship Workshop at Sala Redenção, which belongs to the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Peña's visit made a buzz, and was featured in a few local newspapers, such as Zero Hora, to which he wrote an open-ed, which can be read (in Portuguese) here, as well as an interview, which isn't available online. His vist was also covered by O Sul newspaper.
Afterwards, Richard Peña followed to Rio de Janeiro, where he took part in three programs. On the first one, on August 18th, he joined João Luiz Vieira, Cinema Professor a Fluminense Federal University, to discuss Frank Sinatra's filmography. The debate was the the kickoff for an exhibition, at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), in honor of the his 100th birthday. The next day, Peña gave an open lecture at the Salão Nobre of the Parque Lage School of Visual Arts (EAV), on the Early African-American Independent Cinema movement. on August 20th, Thursday, he was a guest at Darcy Ribeiro Cinema School, where he screened the Mexican movie "Somos lo que hay" and gave a Master Class on Latin American Cinema. The program was part of the ten years celebration of the Darcy Ribeiro Cineclub, and was featured at O Globo newspaper.
Overall, Peña's programs in Brazil were attended by 400 people.
