INCE - Instituto Nacional de Cinema Educativo

O Descobrimento do Brasil (The Discovery of Brazil) is an impressive historical epic recreating Álvares Cabral’s voyage to the New World in 1500, with a score especially written by the renowned composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. One of the earliest examples of Brazilian cinema, this film depicts the perilous journey of Pedro Álvares Cabral’s armada from Portugal to Brazil. Though somewhat rudimentary compared to other films of the period, The Discovery of Brazil distinguishes itself with its scenes of indigenous people and Portuguese explorers on the beach, and in the imaginative lighting on board the ship. But the real star is the beautiful cantata by Villa-Lobos that permeates the film.

A cinematographic interpretation of a Casimiro de Abreu poem.

A Velha a Fiar illustrates a Brazilian folk song in which a being or entity is always predating another being, but is in its turn predated by some other animal, until the circle closes. It begins like this: an old woman is quietly weaving and a fly disturbs her; a spider eats the fly; a mouse eats the spider; a cat chases the mouse and so on...

Aspects of the life of the Kamaiurá, an indigenous tribe that inhabits the Upper Xingu. The manioc-based food, the training with bow and arrow and the work carried out by the young Indian, the girls learn how to spin, and the boys develop the knowledge of the tribe with the shamans. An important rite is the Kuarup, which honors a great dead leader. The procedures for the rite: the decoration of tree trunks, the painting of bodies, the dance choreography, the physical confrontation between the Indians. Finally, the trunks are taken by children to the waters of the Xingu River.

"Nomenclature: Demonstration of the two main earth movements and their consequences."

A panel of the capital of Minas Gerais at the end of the 1950s. Aspects of its modern layout, the result of a pre-established urban plan, with its communication routes, squares and public buildings. Understanding the history of the city and its geographical location. Considerations on teaching, commerce and industry. Pampulha and residential neighborhoods.

A panoramic view of the architecture of St. João Del Rei.

An amalgamation of accents and life experiences from different parts of Brazil reunited on the city of Brasília.

Detailed description of the diplomatic and territorial conquests of José Maria Paranhos, the Baron of Rio Branco. Considered the father of Brazilian diplomacy, Rio Branco, through his skillful negotiation skills, was the protagonist of important diplomatic resolutions, which preserved a large part of Brazillian borders.

The architect Sérgio Bernardes' vision of the future for Rio de Janeiro. Models and designs of airports, ports, and remodeled neighborhoods propose the creation of a vertical city for the urban problem and its transformation into an international center for commercial and

The need for water in human life.

On the dry ground of the caatinga and on the rocky slopes of the sertão, the goat survives. Organic parts of the country landscape, linked to the economy of certain regions, provide milk, meat and skin for export.

A look at the now abandoned production farms, substituted by power plants.

A brief history of paper and the stages of its production. An animation about the history of writing, the emergence of paper in ancient civilizations and the invention of printing, taking paper manufacturing to an industrial scale. Paper production in Brazil, with emphasis on the use of pine, eucalyptus and bamboo. At Companhia Mineira de Papéis, in Cataguases, the stages of paper making. Paper consumption and its production in tons in Brazil since 1939. Brazilian self-sufficiency and the use of paper in various activities.