I do remain with my positions of a third-worldist cinema. An independent cinema from an economic and artistic point of view, which does not let aesthetic creativity disappear in the name of commercial objectivity and political immediacy.

— Glauber Rocha, director

Glauber Rocha taught me that Cinema Novo had the potential to be a national cinema that was not purely commercial. A place for art, experimentation, transformation, and freedom. Each director with their own unique vision, creating a space of resistance to the predetermined and obvious formulas of Hollywood.

However, it became increasingly difficult to find similar expressions of will, especially with the growing dominance of major US productions in Brazil. The cinema experience was transformed, shifting to large shopping centers, and popular festivals and local productions were put in the background by blockbusters. Despite this, some places for encountering the unknown still resist.

In my search for one of these places in Passau, a small town on the border of Germany and Austria, I was fortunate to find a street cinema showing the Brazilian film Corpo Elétrico—which I watched during one of the only two sessions that took place in Juiz de Fora. The feature, by Marcelo Caetano, reminds me of Glauber's genuine will to create something instigating that, more than understanding, dares to invite us to feel. In the darkness of the emptied rows of that German street cinema, I reaffirmed how surprising and fascinating these spaces are that still encourage diversity and experimentation. After having lived near the last street cinema in Juiz de Fora for seven years, I have never felt so close to home even when so far away.