Film screening: ‘We must be dreaming’

This event was held on Friday 27 September 2019

The Wollotuka Institute, the Centre for 21st Century Humanities and the Societies, Cultures and Human Services Cluster are hosting a film night on Friday 27th September from 7pm – 10pm at The Royal Exchange Salon Theatre. Register for your free ticket.

Join us for an evening of Brazilian and Aboriginal cultural collaboration through film, music, dance and food tasting. Dr Raymond Kelly from the Wollotuka Institute said, “I am happy to be supporting this event as it promotes partnership and networking opportunities amongst staff and communities within the University of Newcastle and the Hunter region. Evenings like the film screening allow us to meet and learn from other cultures and share who we are”

The film “We must be dreaming” by David Dhert will be screened.

Watch the trailer.

Film abstract:

"One World, One Dream". "For The World, For The Game". "All in One Rhythm". The World Cup and the Olympic Games usually announce themselves in terms of dreams and opportunities for the people of the host country. Navigating through the daily lives of three Brazilians, one Indigenous, one Afro-Brazilian and one European descendant, the film ‘We must be dreaming’ explores what the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games have brought to the lives of the people of Rio de Janeiro.

Introduction by the filmmaker David Dhert:

The idea for this film sprouted in 2010-11 when I was living in Rio and the air was filled with expectations. Nobody doubted that opportunity would knock on many doors, with the city soon to host both the World Cup and the Olympic Games. Times were hopeful, everybody was making plans and dreaming of a better life. Some were planning to sell ice-cream around the stadiums, others were about to photograph the city's injustice to have it shown abroad in order to spur social improvement, still others were dreaming of a first indigenous university in the heart of the city.

I chose for a fly-on-the-wall documentary approach without interviews or voice overs, just 3 character driven narratives that would build the spine of the film. There was no manifest intention behind the making of this film, the course has always been left open and the events occurred in front of the characters I had chosen. The characters selected for this documentary were people who I encountered in the direct surroundings of the Maracanã sports stadium (that would have both the World Cup and Olympic Games) and who thus had a higher likeliness to be influenced by the events. I have chosen not to cast rich people, neither (very) poor people. I just made sure the characters of the film differed in ancestry and in intentions during the World Cup years.

For this film I took a 3 year deep dive in Rio de Janeiro's complexities, to feel the impact of the sports events at society's raw heartbeat. Instead of a macro-social evaluation of legacy, I chose to follow 3 small stories in close-up and focus on personal legacy portrayed in the small human things everyone can relate to: the hope for a better life, the fear of a mother, the indifference of the silence.

The film and its three storylines carry diverse themes, as major events like these profoundly affect various layers of society. With the arrival of the events, we observe how the city gradually moves away from its role as social caretaker towards an increasingly sharp money-driven apparatus. And as for the opportunities... nowadays in 2018, the city of Rio de Janeiro is facing crisis and bankruptcy, while Switzerland is still shining.