Created in 2004 in Paris by Augusto Contento and Giancarlo Grande, Cineparallax (Cineparalleli Hobo Shibumi) is an independent film production company. Over the past decade it has produced 11 feature-length documentaries awarded and selected at major film festivals around the world, recognized by main institutions such as UNESCO, the United Nations High Commissioner, Italian, French, Brazilian, American Governments.
Cineparallax specialized in international co-productions, working with Italian, Brazilian, German, American co- producers, Regional and National Funds and Tax Credits and Tax Rebates. For Cineparallax, independence does not only mean producing niche products, or being a company far from the so-called majors. It means do not follow the conformists standards of TVs. It means developing cinematographic languages that create an alternative vision of reality. For Cineparallax authentic cinema should not legitimize the mindset of a ruling system, the power of fashion: it must create "visions" and awake the imagination of the audience.
Shadowgram is a movie about the memory of the African Americans living in the USA. 50 years after the abolition of the ignominious Jim Crow’s Laws, what has changed? Did something really change? Who does remember how it was? Which is now days evolution of the African American community? Their hopes, their dreams, their will? Starting from investigations made in Chicago’s South Side, still one of the hardest US’ regions for African Americans, Shadowgram will try to answer to those questions, and to discover hopes, opportunities and chances in today's America. Find out more
Red Ashes is a documentary which explores poetical, mystical and visionary aspects of the island of Stromboli and the film made in 1950 by Roberto Rossellini, Stromboli, terra di Dio. It uses archive footage from the restored print of Rossellini’s film, together with sequences from documentaries shot by De Seta in the Aeolian Islands, and home movies by Ingrid Bergman not previously screened in public. The protagonists of Red Ashes are four islanders – two of whom were directly involved on set in 1950 – and the film critic Adriano Aprà, a leading authority on the work of the neorealist director. Find out more
Parallax Sounds explores the intimate connection between music and urban landscape in Chicago, bringing interviews with musicians who contributed to shape the vibrant Chicago underground music scene in the 90s and continue to do creative and relevant work today: Steve Albini, David Grubbs, Damon Locks, Ken Vandermark and Ian Williams. Through discussions ranging from art and politics to the differences between the condition of the artist in America and in Europe, they help us understand how different artists react to the same environment and which common traits might exist to connect such a varied artistic production. Watch on Fandor.
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'Ônibus' is a poetic journey side by side with the passangers and drivers of the interstate buses. A journey without a beginning or and end, through the lanscapes and accents in constant transformation ,slowly forming a mosaic called Brazil. Find out more
Strade d'Acqua/Roads of Water is a fluvial western shot in an equatorial region. With an epic spirit, director Augusto Contento's film investigates a whole people's social and psychological condition and how nature determines and mirrors it. To travel through his eyes on the Amazon river and its affluents, surrounded by the landscape’s mysterious and pagan monumentality, is like going back in time and beating the tracks of wild west, crossing lands without law and boarding boats that are like real convoys, still full of colons looking for a better life in a nonexistent place. The protagonists come and go like the rivers' currents, thanks to an original editing format that ramificates the narration horizontally, reproducing the fluvial map of the Amazon bassin. The film is carried by the original soundtrack composed by American jazz musician Ken Vandermark, whose music adds a poignant note that still resonates in the spectator's mind long after the final credits. Find out more
"In my opinion, what makes everyone the same here are distances…" Tramas (Weavings/Plots) is set in São Paulo, Brazil. Its protagonists are ten men and women from different ages and varied social and cultural background. Retracing their usual itineraries within the city, they tell us about their feelings and impressions and share with us their personal experiences, helping us reconstruct the weavings/plots of the biggest South American city. The camera is constantly in motion, following our characters in the trains, taxis, buses, subways. By doing this it weaves a spider`s web that changes the physical and perceptive space, unveiling the everyday rituals, the different urban, cultural and social dimensions that characterize São Paulo.
Transparent Roads delivers the physical sensations of a bus trip - it's so realistic it becomes oniric at times - and portrays Brazil's human variety in a series of encounters. By choosing to stay in the margins, director Augusto Contento hits the nail on the head: the landscapes seen through the windows, the restaurants on the road, the testimonies of common and awfully endearing people are so touching because they don't correspond to the stereotypes we have about this country. The soundtrack, which was composed by prestigious European and Americain musicians especially for the film, reinforces the images' capivating power. Find out more