Brazil: An Inconvenient History 2008
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Producer n/a
Directed by Phil Grabsky
DVD, color, 48 min.
Sr. High - General Adult
African Studies, European Studies, Geography, History, Sociology
Date Entered: 02/15/2012
Reviewed by Scott S. Richmond, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Daniel A. Reed Library, State University of New York at FredoniaIn this documentary, award-winning director, Phil Grabsky, tells the history of Brazil from its discovery in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese through the modern moment. A combination of contemporary accounts and interviews with historians, as well as experts in other fields, portrays the world in which the largest slave population ever recorded lived, and focuses on the hellish conditions created by the immense sugar plantations. Although the film’s primary focus is the colonial period in Brazil, it demonstrates the impact that the importation of nearly four million African slaves has on modern day Brazil in regards to not one, but all aspects of life. This documentary offers a great, but brief, introduction into the history of Brazil. The cinematography and sound quality of this film are superb. This film would make a great addition to any library—public, academic, or classroom collection.