Filmmaker who exposed coup at Cannes wins Sydney Film Festival.
The film Aquarius, by Pernambuco native Kleber Mendonça, was unanimously chosen as the winner in the "Best Film" category at the Sydney Film Festival this weekend; the cast, starring Sonia Braga, gained worldwide media attention for denouncing the coup in Brazil during the Cannes Film Festival.
247 - The Brazilian film Aquarius, by Pernambuco filmmaker Kleber Mendonça, was unanimously chosen as the winner in the "Best Film" category at the Sydney Film Festival this weekend, taking home a prize of $63.
"Aquarius is a testament to the obligation and relevance of contemporary Brazil and the power of an individual to stand up for what they believe in," said the jury president, British producer and programmer Simon Campo, in an interview with Australia's The Sydney Morning Herald.
The cast, starring Sonia Braga, gained worldwide media attention in May when they denounced the coup in Brazil during the Cannes Film Festival. The actors and the director himself held up signs on the red carpet with phrases denouncing an "illegitimate government" in the country.
Kleber Mendonça gained notoriety after his award-winning film, O Som ao Redor (Neighboring Sounds), was included in The New York Times' prestigious list of the 10 best films of the year.