Portuguese and Luso-Brazilian Studies to partner for second year with Toronto Black Film Festival

For the second consecutive year, York University’s Portuguese & Luso-Brazilian Studies, in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, will partner with the Toronto Black Film Festival.

The program will co-present the Portuguese/Cape Verdean film Os Dois Irmãos (The Two Brothers) directed by Francisco Manso, as well as the Brazilian film Correndo Atrãs (Running After) directed by Jeferson De.

The films deal with many themes that are relevant to the interests of York students, faculty and the overall mission of York University: the call for justice, the fight against racial discrimination and the defence of human rights. Though the films may be of particular interest to students in Portuguese & Luso-Brazilian Studies, they do have a wide appeal to the broader community, and will be subtitled in English.

Feb. 16, 7 p.m. (20 Carlton St., Toronto)
Os Dois Irmãos (The Two Brothers) is inspired by true events. André, a Cape Verdean emigrant in Lisbon, receives a letter from his father telling him that João, his younger brother, had an affair with André’s wife, and demanding that he come back to cleanse the family’s honour. Pressured by his father and village, he faces a terrible choice between killing his brother, for whom he feels tenderness and friendship despite the circumstances, and denying his culture. A conflict between actual laws and an ancestral law, non-written but accepted by the community, and maybe even more powerful.

Tickets and more details are online at torontoblackfilm.com/movie/the-two-brothers.

Feb. 16, 5 p.m. (20 Carlton St., Toronto)
Correndo Atrãs (Running After) is a comedy telling the story of Paulo Gale, a Black Brazilian man, a typical “day-by-day survivor,” always doing his best to bring some happiness into his life, and by happiness he means money. When finding himself at a dead end, he discovers the opportunity to become a football manager by leading a boy from the neighborhood to become the new Neymar of international soccer.

Tickets and more details are online at torontoblackfilm.com/movie/running-after-correndo-atras.