At a time when the world is polarizing and cultural borders become more rigid, cinema, as always, emerges as one of the last bastions of truth and reflection. The NEW RUSSIAN CINEMA I Screenings brings to light two contemporary works by directors who, with surgical precision, lead us through the dark and complex labyrinths of a modern Russia, marked by decades of autocratic leadership and a social fabric intertwined with hypocrisy and hopelessness.

We present two distinct narratives that, without the need to explain political messages, capture the essence of a country where freedom, in all its forms, seems to slip through the fingers of its citizens.

"LOVELESS" (Nelyubov, 2017) by Andrey Zvyagintsev, is a cold and desolate masterpiece, which throws us into an emotional abyss reflected in the story of a couple going through a divorce. The absence of love, literally personified in the disappearance of the son, becomes a powerful metaphor for a society where human connections are disposable, and selfishness is the currency. Zvyagintsev, known for dissecting the fissures of the Russian soul, offers us a film that is both a portrait and a fierce critique of the emotional vacuum that permeates modern life in that country.

"THE MAN WHO SURPRISED EVERYONE" (Chelovek, kotoryy udivil vsekh, 2018), by Natalya Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov, challenges us with a story that mixes brutal realism with almost mythical elements. When a Siberian hunter, faced with his mortality, makes a radical and unexpected decision, he becomes the mirror of a society incapable of dealing with difference and change. This film, more than an individual story, is a blunt commentary on the limits of understanding and acceptance in a traditionalist society, dominated by fear of the "other".

It is imperative that we come to an end of a certain blockade of what is Russian. Art, and especially cinema, has the power to transcend political, ideological and cultural barriers. Despite geopolitical complexities, contemporary Russian cinema maintains a unique vitality and depth that cannot be ignored. This cycle is, therefore, a declaration in favor of art and freedom of expression, an invitation to open ourselves to the richness of narratives that, regardless of their origin, have a lot to say about the human condition.

(Curated by Alexandre Braga)