IndependênciaS
IndependênciaS was a Brazilian drama series in 16 episodes, produced and aired by TV Cultura every Wednesday at 10 p.m. and repeated at the same time on Sundays, in the period from September 7 to December 21, 2022.[1]
| IndependênciaS | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | IndependênciaS |
| Created by | Luiz Fernando Carvalho |
| Developed by | Luís Alberto de Abreu Luiz Fernando Carvalho |
| Story by | Alex Moletta Paulo Garfunkel Melina Dalboni |
| Directed by | Luiz Fernando Carvalho |
| Starring | Antônio Fagundes Daniel de Oliveira Isabél Zuaa Alana Ayoká Ilana Kaplan |
| Composers | Tim Rescala Tiganá Santana Master San |
| Country of origin | Brazil |
| Original language | Portuguese |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Enéas Carlos Pereira |
| Release | |
| Original network | TV Cultura |
| Original release | September 7 – December 21, 2022 |
Written by Luis Alberto de Abreu, it was developed by director, film-maker, Luiz Fernando Carvalho, and responsibility for its script was also shared among Alex Moletta, Paulo Garfunkel and Melina Dalboni with the collaboration of Kaká Werá Djecupé, Ynaê Lopes dos Santos, Cidinha da Silva and Tiganá Santana. The idea for the project had arisen on TV Cultura from an initial research conducted by journalist, José Antonio Severo.[2]
The series was premiered to coincide with Brazil's Bicentennial Day, making a contemporary rereading of the facts of the country’s history in the 19th century, from the escape of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil in 1808 to the death of Pedro I of Brazil, in 1834, in Portugal.[3]
It is another partnership between Luiz Fernando Carvalho and playwright, Luís Alberto de Abreu, with whom the film-maker had already performed the mini-series Today is Maria's Day (Hoje É Dia de Maria), 'Capitu' and Stone of the Kingdom (A Pedra do Reino). The cast comprises a blend of renowned actors, such as Antonio Fagundes, Daniel de Oliveira, Isabel Zuaa, Gabriel Leone, Ilana Kaplan, André Frateschi, Celso Frateschi, Cassio Scapin, Rafael Cortez, Walderez de Barros and Maria Fernanda Candido, and newcomers, such as Alana Ayoká, Marcela Vivan, Veronia Mucúna, Jamila Cazumbá and Ywy'zar Guajajara.[4]
The premise of the series was the need to review the representation of historical processes, such as the "Independence or Death" painting, considered the most consecrated, widespread representation of Brazil's moment of independence. Referring to the portrait of Pedro Américo, director, Luiz Fernando Carvalho wrote, "It all seems false, a kind of fake news of the time, imperialist and exclusionary. We wondered: Where are the women? What happened to Maria Felipa, Leopoldina, Maria Quiteria and martyrs like Soror Joana Angélica, José Bonifácio, Frei Caneca and Chaguinhas? And other people too, anonymous heroes of so many popular uprisings? Where’s Marisqueiras de Itaparica”.[5]
Plot
The starting point is 1808, marked by two distinct Atlantic crossings: African slaves disembark in Brazil. Prince Regent Dom João VI and his family take refuge in Rio de Janeiro in the face of the threat represented by Napoleon Bonaparte. The colony is transformed, reconstructed by slave labor. The intimacy between the elite, the slave traders and the Court is revealed. In the following years, there is an outbreak of violence against the indigenous population. Revolts led by anonymous heroes, students and progressive politicians shake the monarchy. Shouts of resistance from other corners of the country oppose the official clamor for independence uttered by a hesitant Dom Pedro I in 1822. Uprisings, scattered across the country, contribute to the Independence movement, their leaders being characters previously erased: Maria Felipa, Frei Caneca, Chaguinhas, Gonçalves Ledo, Antonio Carlos Andrada and Maria Quitéria.[6]
Production
As a result of the collaborative creative process that extended from July 2021 to May 2022, encompassing research, creation, writing, preparation and realization, the series was fully filmed in Luiz Fernando Carvalho’s studio in Vila Leopoldina, where the rehearsals had also been held.[7]
The preparation of the cast began with practical and theoretical workshops, with the poet, essayist, teacher and playwright, Leda Maria Martins, historians, Ynaê Lopes dos Santos and Lilia Schwarcz, psychoanalyst, Maria Rita Kehl, and Jaqueline Côelho.
The recordings of the series, which had taken 70 days, were completed in May, located in the same oval studio - called the “Cosmograma” by the director - where the actors had rehearsed their roles. Alexandre Herchcovitch designed the costumes for the series, working in the same studio set in the director's creative unit.[8][9]
The experimental and hybrid language of the work involved several narrative vocabularies.[10] The narration that structures the whole story is the voice of the character Pilgrim (Isabel Zuaa) speaking in Kimbundu. The African matrix tongue translated in the Portuguese subtitles was performed by Professor Niyi Monanzambi (UFBA). The indigenous dialogues were created by writer Kaka Werá Djecupi in Tupi-Guarani, and recreated by indigenous actress Zahy Guajajara, who translated into Ze'eng Eté, a derivation of Tupi spoken by the Guajajara ethnicity. Brian Hazlehurst translated the dialogues in certain scenes into “olde” English, and enhanced the pronunciation of the respective actors.
Cast
| Actor/Actress | Character |
|---|---|
| Antônio Fagundes[11] | Dom João VI |
| Daniel de Oliveira[1] | Pedro I of Brazil |
| Isabél Zuaa | Peregrina |
| Alana Ayoká | Young Peregrina |
| Ilana Kaplan[11] | Carlota Joaquina |
| Louisa Sexton[12] | Maria Leopoldina of Austria |
| Gabriel Leone[11] | Miguel I of Portugal |
| Walderez de Barros[13] | Maria I of Portugal |
| Celso Frateschi[11] | José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva |
| André Frateschi[11] | Francisco Gomes da Silva (Chalaça) |
| Cassio Scapin[11] | Plácido de Abreu |
| Marcela Vivan[11] | Domitila |
| Dani Ornellas | Osória |
| Zahy Guajajara | Inaiá |
| Ywy'zar Guajajara | Cyara |
| Verônia Mucúna | Maria Felipa |
| Maria Fernanda Cândido[14] | Maria Graham |
| Katia Daher [11] | Isobel |
| Carol Brada [11] | Marquesa de Aguiar |
| Marat Descartes[14] | Francisco José Rufino de Sousa Lobato |
| José Renato Forner | Martim Francisco Andrada |
| Sergio Siviero | Antonio Carlos Andrada |
| Flávio Tolezani | Gonçalves Ledo |
| Wilson Rabelo | Priest José Maurício Nunes Garcia |
| Rafael Cortez[11] | Marquês de Marialva |
| Cacá Carvalho[11] | Barão |
| Renato Borghi[11] | Paulo Fernandes Viana |
| Pedro Paulo Rangel[11] | Librarian |
| Luís Mármora | Elias António Lopes |
| Rogério Brito | Paulino |
| Léa Garcia[14] | Osória´s mother |
| Ermi Panzo | Holufema |
| Juliana Sanches | Maria Quitéria |
| Simone Makhamra | Joana Angélica |
| Júlio Silvério | Chaguinhas |
| Plínio Soares | Fahter Antônio |
| Alli Willow | Noemy |
| Bruna Miglioranza | Benedita de Castro Canto e Melo |
| Odilon Esteves | Francisco de Castro do Canto e Melo |
| Tay Lopez | Frei Caneca |
| Marcelo Andrade | Miguel Nunes Vidigal |
| Fafá de Belém[15] | Madame Corneta |
| Margareth Menezes[14] | Engrácia |
| Dárcio de Oliveira | Francisco Montezuma |
| Jussara Freire[14] | Farmer |
Reception
"The difference that immediately strikes the viewer, right in the first episode, is the restitution of the role of African and indigenous matrixes in the constitution of Brazil's multifaceted identity. His visual excess and antinaturalism, style marks, have won Luiz Fernando Carvalho a distinct place on TV. Now he takes a broader sweep, confronting the viewer with a country of extremes, admired for its boundless imagination, but, at the same time, incapable of seeing itself"
—Carta Capital, by Cássio Starling Carlos[4]
The series was well received by critics. For Estado de S. Paulo critic, Ubiratan Brasil, the series is a "program that will make history. It is certainly one of the best productions of the year."[16]
According to the philosopher, sociologist and regional director of Sesc-SP, Danilo Santos de Miranda, the first episode "left us all impacted by the sheer artistic beauty and the much-needed fresh approach to this chapter of our history."[17]
Folha de S. Paulo journalist, Naief Haddad wrote: "the originality from a visual and narrative point of view, which characterizes Carvalho’s works, is another mark of the series.(...) In the 200 years since the Cry of Ipiranga, an unusual and fallible emperor is silenced, without the hero pose eternalized in the portrait of Pedro Américo."[1]
In the article by critic, Rodrigo Fonseca, "The first episode (...) is synesthetic splendor, mixing file images of villages, photos, paintings and a stunning performance by Ilana Kaplan as Carlota Joaquina. In its dramaturgy (simultaneously baroque and pop), this opening chapter focuses on a cartography of human indignity imposed on peoples from Latin Pangeia and the enslaved Africans. It is a kind of “La Chinoise” (1967), with the entire semiotics of Godard, yesterday and today."[7]
For director, Gabriel Priolli, "IndependênciaS is light years ahead of the unambitious aesthetics of the current soap operas, and even Brazilian series, which are supposed to be an evolution of the progenitor. It is not an entertainment product. Rather, it’s a work of art."[18]
References
- Naief Haddad (2022-09-04). "'Independências' de Luiz Fernando Carvalho traz Dom Pedro 1º falível e insólito". Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Ubiratan Brasil (2022-09-05). ""Independências", de Luiz Fernando Carvalho, traz a questão: foi um golpe da elite?". Estado de S. Paulo. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Eduardo Magossi (2022-09-03). "A série que traz os personagens apagados da Independência do Brasil e que não está nem na Disney e nem na Netflix". Valor Econômico. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Cássio Starling Carlos (2022-09-08). "Um retrato anticelebratório". Carta Capital. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Bárbara Demerov (2022-09-02). "Minissérie "Independências" é revisão autoral e reflexiva do passado do Brasil". Veja São Paulo. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Matheus Mans (2022-09-06). "'Independências', minissérie da TV Cultura, ilumina histórias do Brasil". Filmelier. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Rodrigo Fonseca (2022-08-31). "IndependênciaS, o gesto godardiano de Luiz Fernando Carvalho". C7nema.net. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Iara Biderman (2022-09-07). "Independências: a história é essa". Quatro Cinco Um. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Ubiratan Brasil (2021-11-21). "Bicentenário da Independência: Luiz Fernando Carvalho dirige série para TV Cultura". Terra. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Pedro Bial (2022-09-08). "Uma artista portuguesa de ascendência angolana e guineense, Isabél Zuaae, uma historiadora negra brasileira, e Ynaê Lopes dos Santos, refletem sobre o bicentenário nos dois países, sob a perspectiva de africanos e seus descendentes". Conversa com Bial. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Previdelli, Fábio (2022-08-17). "TV Cultura Lança Minissérie Sobre Os 200 Anos Da Independência Do Brasil". aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br.
- Ubiratan Brasil (2022-08-31). "Atriz inglesa vive imperatriz Leopoldina na minissérie "IndependênciaS"". Estadão. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Naief Haddad (14 July 2022). "Walderez de Barros volta aos palcos com Tchékhov e à TV como dona Maria, a Louca". folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
- Flavio Ricco (16 August 2022). "TV Cultura estreia série sobre bicentenário da Independência". entretenimento.r7.com. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
- Fefito (2022-08-31). "Fafá de Belém interpretará cafetina em série sobre Independência do Brasil". UOL. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Ubiratan Brasil (2022-08-30). "Caderno 2 no Ar: tudo sobre a série 'Independências', da TV Cultura". Eldorado-Estadão. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Danilo Santos de Miranda (2022-09-06). "Estreia para convidados no CineSesc". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- Gabriel Priolli (2022-09-16). "Um grito de arte". Facebook. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
External links
- IndependênciaS - Official website (in Portuguese)
- IndependênciaS at IMDb
- IndependênciaS - Luiz Fernando Carvalho Site Oficial (in Portuguese)
- Playlist no Youtube (in Portuguese)