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01/21/08: Happy New Year! The Empress of Carnival DVD will be hitting the stores in Brazil on January 28 – exactly one week before carnival. Log-On, the DVD distribution company, informs that Empress of Carnival will be available for sale on-line and in several stores all over Brazil. Viewers will be able to watch the documentary in four different languages (Portuguese, English, Spanish and French). The DVD will be sold in a luxury set that will also feature an art-book with photos of the carnival parade. 07/25/07: Before year’s end, the documentary Empress of Carnival will be available on DVD, with 16:9 screen format ratio (widescreen), dolby digital sound (5.1), and lots of extras: deleted scenes, music videos featuring the samba-school’s drumming section being recorded in studio, and an optional commentary track featuring director Medeiros Schultz and carnival expert Felipe Ferreira. The DVD authoring process is underway; we’ll keep you posted! 01/05/07: Folks, sorry for staying off the air for so long. We’ve been busy with other projects, plus there haven’t been a lot of news regarding Empress of Carnival since our last posting. International TV distribution is still being handled by Vento Leste Produções - the documentary has already been seen in Poland, Mexico, and Slovakia. Negotiations with more countries are under way. As far as releasing Empress of Carnival on DVD, it’s become a question of honor to do it by the end of 2007. Please keep checking this “news” section for an update regarding the matter. Meanwhile, check out some scenes from the documentary recently posted on www.youtube.com (Search for: empress, carnival) 8/14/05: Please excuse us for taking so long to update this “news” section. Fact is, there has been considerable progress (we have just been too busy with other projects!): Empress of Carnival is now being distributed for TV by Vento Lesto Produções, which has already sold it to Poland, and is currently negotiating with several countries, including Mexico. Also, the previously announced project to make the documentary available on DVD was approved by the Brazilian Cinema Agency (Lei do Audiovisual). Accordinly, the director Medeiros Schultz has started looking for sponsors. It is possible that the DVD will come out independently from sponsors, for there seems significant interest in it from the public - this website is constantly receiving messages from people interested in buying a copy of Empress of Carnival. Finally, the “reviews” section of this website has just been updated with new reviews by critics such as Leon Cakoff, director of the São Paulo International Film Festival. Check it out! 7/05/04: Good news, finally. Our contract with TVS has expired, and now we are free to sign with a new and more efficient distributor. More news on Empress of Carnival on TV coming up... Meanwhile, the director Medeiros Schultz is about to send a project to Brazil’s Ministério da Cultura (Culture Department), seeking to make the documentary available on DVD. Soon, Empress of Carnival will be available commercially, with crisp images and 5.1 sound! (We sure are tired of not being able to accommodate the innumerous e-mails we receive, requesting a copy.) Finally, the documentary was invited to participate in the National Black Arts Festival, in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be the first screening of Empress of Carnival in that city, and it will take place on July 18 (Sunday), at 9 PM, at the Rich Theatre / Woodruff Arts Center. More information on the website www.nbaf.org. 01/08/04: Dear friends, happy 2004 for everyone. Please excuse us for the long “hiatus” of news in the website. The truth is, in the past ten months, there hasn’t been much to tell. Nevertheless, we remain excited. The gala screening of Empress of Carnival in Pretoria (South Africa) was moved to this year, because of president Lula’s visit to that country, late last year. The new date for the screening hasn’t been decided yet, and will be posted here as soon as possible. Despite the constant requests that we receive for VHS and DVD copies of the documentary, we regret to inform that TVS, the company in charge of its distribution, hasn’t made progress. One way or another, Empress of Carnival will be made available this year; keep checking this website for more information on the matter. Finally, the documentary will be shown at the Pan African Film Festival, which will take place in Los Angeles, USA, on February 5-16, 2004. The specific date of the screening hasn’t been posted yet; for more information, visit the festival’s website: www.paff.org. 03/20/03: Embassador Jório Salgado has just invited Empress of Carnival to be screened in Pretoria (South Africa), in a gala event in celebration of Brazil’s Independence Day. The screening, in 35mm., will take place on Monday, September 8. The director, Medeiros Schultz, will be present at the event. 02/28/03: To the surprise of many, including its producers, Empress of Carnival has not been shown on TV or been made available on video yet. According to TVS, the documentary’s distributor, the international TV and Video market is going through a major recession. Few channels are buying new material, and preference is being given to “reality-shows”. Backed by years of experience, TVS explains that the market works in cycles, and it is confident that Empress of Carnival will soon achieve the wide distribution we are all hoping for. 10/07/02: The documentary Empress of Carnival has just been invited by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida for an exclusive screening on November 7 (Thursday), for its members and guests. The screening, which will be held at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, will begin at 7 PM and features a debate with the director, Medeiros Schultz, after the projection. Additional information is available from BACCF through the website www.brazilchamber.org, or by phone (305) 579-9030. 8/01/02: TVS, the international distributor of Empress of
Carnival, has been receiving several inquiries from individuals
interested in acquiring a copy of the documentary.
In reality, TVS is a distributor to distributors; it does not
sell or license the program directly to consumers.
Currently, TVS is negotiating with world TV channels and DVD
and VHS distributors – these are the people who will actually
present Empress of Carnival to the market.
If anyone is interested in acquiring a copy of the documentary,
write to us at info@empressofcarnival.com.
We will forward your request to TVS, as it needs to know how
many people are interested in this documentary, which is the only one
of its kind. 5/15/02: Empress of Carnival was invited to participate in a special
program dedicated to Carnival and Mardi Gras, to take place at the Jazz
At Lincoln Center, in NYC. Segments of the documentary will be
used to illustrate the preparation for the parade in Rio de Janeiro.
Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis will be hosting the program. 1/02/02:
Empress of Carnival
is entering the new year ready and eager to be aired. One major
TV channel has already shown interest. The answer from the other channels
is awaited, before a decision of whether to call upon a broker (ie.
distributor) is made. Happy New Year and good luck to all! 12/15/01:
While the documentary is still being submitted to several
international festivals (ex. Turkey, Israel, Canada, etc.), the
producers' focus has changed to looking for potential buyers,
including TV, home-video and soundtrack. Copies of the documentary
have been sent to several major international TV channels,
which are expected to reply in or two months. 11/23/01:
Following an invitation by
Rio's prestigious Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Empress
of Carnival will be screened four times to the public this week,
at the cultural center's main building in downtown Rio. It is one
of three documentaries about Samba and Carnival that have been chosen
to make up a special film showcase named "O Cinema Cai no Samba"
("The Cinema Goes Samba"). 11/01/01: Empress
of Carnival was screened three times during the Mostra Internacional
de Cinema de São Paulo (São Paulo International Film Festival),
which ended today. The documentary had never been screened in São
Paulo before, giving friends and relatives of the director-who was
born in the city-an opportunity to finally see the work. 10/15/01:
A new, 56-minute version of the documentary has been completed
(the original length is 100 minutes). It is meant specially for cable
TV channels, which tend to present programs in 60-minute time slots. 09/18/01:
Empress of Carnival has just received the Best Feature
Documentary award at the XXVIII Jornada Internacional de Cinema da
Bahia. The documentary has also been invited to participate in the
Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo, which will take
place from October 19 till November 1. 08/25/01:
it is confirmed: Empress of Carnival will participate in the XXVIII
Jornada Internacional de Cinema da Bahia, to take place in
Salvador, Bahia, in the month of September. 08/22/01:
Empress of Carnival has just been invited by the Brazilian
Consulate in LA for a special screening on September 7 (Brazil's
Independence Day). The screening will follow a cocktail party given by
the Consulate to invited guests. Embassador Pimentel, the Consulate's
new Consul, saw the documentary in July at the Los Angeles Latino
International Film Festival. 08/13/01:
after an initial screening two days ago, the Rhode Island
International Film Festival has selected Empress of Carnival
for a second showing today, along with the best films in the festival,
in the "Best of Fest Marathon." In July, the documentary had
already been screened three times at the Maine International Film
Festival. 07/28/01:
Today, the documentary was shown at the Los Angeles Latino
International Film Festival. The screening took place at 1PM, and
the tickets quickly sold out. After the screening, a local
samba-school called Sambala delighted the festival public with
a surprise performance outside the Egyptian Theater, featuring drums
and dancers! Certainly, Empress of Carnival and Sambala
helped to make the Brazilian presence in the festival that much more
memorable. 6/24/01:
tonight, Empress of Carnival
closed the CINESUL Showcase
of Latin American Cinema in Rio de Janeiro.
It was the first time the documentary was screened in Rio in
35mm. At the screening, the documentary received an early
invitation from the International
Film Festival of Havana. Buena
Vista Social Club, here we come! 6/20/01:
the documentary has just been invited to take part of the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Screening dates and time are August 11 (3 PM) and August 13
(7 PM). The festival
website is www.film-festival.org 5/30/01:
Empress of Carnival
will be screened at the Maine
International Film Festival on the following dates and times: July
12 (7:15 PM), July 13 (9:15 PM), and July 14 (1PM).
For more information, please visit: www.miff.org 05/14/01:
Empress of Carnival has just been invited to play at two new
film festivals: the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival,
and the Maine International Film Festival. Both festivals
take place in July (screening dates and time to be announced). 05/08/01:
The website of the documentary has gotten a face-lift!
Not only has the site become more handsome, but it has also gained
efficiency. The trailers are now much quicker to download. 04/27/01:
Empress of Carnival is invited to participate in Cinesul,
a month-long showcase of Latin-American films taking place in June at
the Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro. 04/01/01:
The tape-to-film transfer of Empress of Carnival is taking
place at DuArt Film and Video lab, in New York. 03/30/01:
The documentary is invited to participate in the Brazilian Film
festival of Miami. The screening will take place on May 24.
It will be the first screening of Empress of Carnival in 35mm
print, surround-sound. 03/07/01: Motivated by success of
the first two public screenings, Roberto Kasinsky, the Executive
Producer of Empress of Carnival, is transferring the
documentary from Digi-Beta to 35mm film. That way, the
documentary will be able to participate in film festivals anywhere in
the world. 03/04/01: The
participation of Empress of Carnival in the San Diego Latino
Film Festival has just been confirmed: it will be screened on
Sunday, March 13. The documentary was invited to participate in the
festival after its screening at the showcase of Brazilian Cinema at
the Egyptian Theatre, in Hollywood. 02/28/01:
Imperatriz Leopoldinense
is truly the Empress of Carnival! The Samba-School whose preparation
work for the 2000 carnival parade was featured in the documentary
Empress of Carnival won today its third consecutive title.
Congratulations Imperatriz! Medeiros Schultz, the film's director,
had a small part in this victory, as he was one of the school's 3,200
parading members in this year's carnival parade. It was Schultz's
first time parading, and he made sure to do so in the wing of Haroldo,
the Costume Maker whose work was documented in the film. 02/22/01:Yesterday,
Empress of Carnival made its second public screening, closing a
showcase of Brazilian Cinema promoted by the Brazilian Ministry
of Culture in Los Angeles, USA. The showcase, which featured six
feature films, took place over three consecutive nights at the famous
Egyptian Theatre, in Hollywood. The screening of Empress of
Carnival seems to have been a great success, judging from the long
applause at the end and the number of people who stayed for the
Q&A session with the director. The audience of 500 people
was a mixture of Brazilians and Americans, and included special
guests, such as Andy Gellis, Vice-President of the IMAX Corporation. 02/18/01:
It finally happened!
On February 17 Empress of Carnival was shown to the public
for the first time at the historic Odeon-BR Theatre, in Rio de
Janeiro. Most of the invited guests were members of Imperatriz,
including Rosa Magalhães, the Artistic Director, and Wagner de Araújo,
the School's President. Members of the press were also invited,
as well as the documentary's production crew, Roberto Kasinsky (the
Executive Producer) and Steve Solot, the representative of the Motion
Picture Association (MPA) in Latin America. After the screening,
there was an animated cocktail party. Check out the photos taken
at the event, as well as feature article, at the site www.dosamba.com.br
(in Portuguese only). 02/10/01:Elifas
Andreato, the recognized Brazilian painter and graphic artist, has just created
the poster for Empress of Carnival. Medeiros Schultz, the
director of the documentary, became aware of Elifas's work through a
CD cover, created by him, for Paulinho da Viola's latest album
Bebadosamba. The poster of Jean Cocteau's classic film, Le
Testament D'Orphée, inspired Elifas's poster. 02/06/01:
The premier of the documentary Empress of Carnival will
be on February 17, 2001, at the Cine Odeon, Rio de Janeiro. Half
of the 600 invited guests will be members of the Samba School
Imperatriz Leopoldinense. The premier of the documentary in the United
States will be at the Egyptian Theater, in Los Angeles . The
Documentary is one of six films invited by Brazil's Ministry of
Culture to take part in a showcase of Brazilian Cinema. Empress
of Carnival will close the showcase on February 21, 2001 at 8PM. |