Lúcia Murat - Fall 2001

Lúcia Murat is a Brazilian journalist, human rights activist and filmmaker. After working in the main TV stations and newspapers of Brazil as a journalist, she worked for an important series for educational TV, Testemunho, about Brazilian history; O Caso Eu Conto como o Caso Foi, short stories based in classics of Brazilian literature; and Mulheres no Cinema, about women in Brazilian movies.

As a filmmaker, Lúcia Murat has produced the award-winning films O Pequeno Exército Louco (Little Mad Army), Daisy, Que Bom Te Ver Viva (How Nice to See You Alive), Doces Poderes (Sweet Power) and Brava Gente Brasileira (Brave New Land).

The following are synopses of Murat's most recent films, which were presented during her time at Notre Dame.

Brava Gente Brasileira/Brave New Land (2000)

This daring historical drama chronicles the events in 1778 when European explorers colonized Brazil. Diogo is a cartographer from Portugal stationed at the Coimbra Fort, a compound in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. Diogo has come to Brazil to search out previously unknown cities and draw maps of the area. His life takes an unexpected turn when he falls in love with Anote, a beautiful young woman whose family rules a local tribe of Guaicuru Indians.

Doces Poderes/Sweet Power (1996)

During a tumultuous political campaign, veteran broadcast journalist Bia takes over as news director of a major television network. Amidst multiple candidates, corrupt colleagues and personal intrigues, she is sucked into ethical grey areas from which it proves difficult to escape. Lúcia Murat has drawn on her own experiences as a television journalist and human rights activist, who was jailed for her political activities, in this stylish, sexy drama about the moral conflicts between careerism, political expediency, and personal and professional ideals. Infused with pathos, humor and real conflict, Sweet Power is a very real look at one woman's struggle to act honorable in the most compromising of situations.

Que Bom Te Ver Viva/How Nice to See You Alive (1989)

On March 31, 1964, a military coup overthrew the Brazilian government. Four years later, all civil rights were suspended and torture became a systematic practice. Using a mix of fiction and documentary, this extraordinary film is a searing record of personal memory, political repression and the will to survive. Interviews with eight women who were political prisoners during the military dictatorship are framed by the fantasies and imaginings of an anonymous character, portrayed by actress Irene Ravache. The film shatters the silence imposed on the survivors and the collective will to forget.