Cinema Negro in Brazil: Disrupting the Visual and Discursive Foundations of Blackness in Branco sai, preto fica

This essay aims to intervene in a conversation about the development of cinema negro brasileiro (or, Black cinema in Brazil). Prior to and concomitant with government efforts to promote the participation of Black Brazilians in film, many artists and activists have advocated for greater presence of Black Brazilians in film production and an improved representation of the Black experience in Brazil. To that end, I situate the film Branco sai, preto fica / White Out, Black In (dir. Adirley Queirós, 2014) as an example of contemporary Black cinema in Brazil. The film emphasizes an understanding of Black cinema in terms of collaborative authorship and clearly denounces institutionalized violence against Brazil's Black population. What is more, in my discussion of the film, I consider production practices as well as how the tropes of science fiction blend with documentary elements in ways that disrupt the visual and discursive foundations of Blackness in Brazil.