Bavarian Premiere

Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 20:00 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 15:00 (BITTER)

Country of Origin: Brazil
Year of Production: 2004
Duration: 15’00“
Category: Fiction

Director: Afonso Nunes
Screenplay: Afonso Nunes
Cinematographer: Luis Abramo
Editor: Clarissa Campolina, Sergio Borges
Production Designer: Marney Heitmann
Producer: Márcia Valadares
Cast: Adílson Maghá, Zezé Motta, Jai Baptista, Camilo Lélis, Luciane Oliveira

Synopsis: A man, a room, a bathroom and a time that won’t be over. The short film is about the life of an absolutely unconventional couple. The characters have no name, and could be any of countless people lost within themselves around the world. Through sound research and image experimentation, the director tries to establish a link between time and madness, in a frenetic search for the characters’ break of paradigms. What is the difference between death and the past? Life and loneliness? The Age of Man brings to light the fragments and textures of vague images in time. An intellectual immersed in his own private universe. Aggressive and selfish, he has no plans in life, and is only led by his basic needs: sleeping, waking up, getting up, going to the bathroom, shaving, thinking, not thinking, getting old, getting young and having sex. He shares the most morbid disappointments and reflections with his female partner. It is not clear whether this woman is real or just imaginary. She could be either his own divan or alter ego. It seems that this feminine “creation” has never disagreed or disapproved of any of his ideas. “She is aware of the lack of affection in which he tries to hide himself and, therefore, does not consider him rational, just limited in his innate selfishness”, explains Afonso Nunes. Free of Manichaeism and propagandism, The Age of Man is about the territory of those excluded from themselves, of those who cannot adapt to their natural habitat, their persona. A short film that brings to light the fragments and textures of vague images in an indefinite time, where a couple represents the chrononogical alienation of age.

Festivals & Awards: Festival de Gramado 2004 (Best Art Direction), Festival Internacional de Curtas de São Paulo 2004 (Jameson Short Film Award), Vitória cine Vídeo 2004, Festival do Cinema Luso-Brasileiro de Santa Maria da Feira 2004, Festival Internacional de Curtas do Rio de Janeiro 2004, Mostra de Tiradentes 2005, Mostra do Filme Livre 2005, Cine PE-Pernambuco 2005, FAM – Florianópolis 2005, Festival de Inverno de Ouro Preto 2005, Brazilian Film Festival of Miami 2005, NY Brazilian Film Festival (Best Short Film), Sofia International Film Festival 2005, Tampere Film Festival 2005, Festival Côté Court Pantin 2005, Festival InCurt Barcelona 2005, Festival du court métrage de Bruxelles 2005, Anifest Trebon 2005, Kortfilmfestival Grimstad 2005, Message To Man St. Petersburg 2005, Festival de Curtas Metragens de Vila do Conde 2005, Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica Venezia 2005, Drama International Short Film Festival 2005, Cork Film Festival 2005, Stockholm International Film Festival 2005, Brief Encounters Bristol 2005, Short Cuts Cologne 2005