Filming in Brasília 

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The construction of Brasília started in 1956 and finished in 1960. Since its opening, the capital has served as an architectural example of an extremely well-planned urban layout, inspiring city planning worldwide.

However, not everything that shines is gold... In contrast to its engineered beauty, the costs for creating the Brazilian utopia were far greater than expected, plunging the country into an inflationary crisis, and, for many scholars and critics of the accelerated ultra modernization of the time, this corroborated with the implementation of the military coup in 1964, which established the dictatorship in Brazil for more than 30 years. 

The artificial transfer of thousands of people from their hometowns to a new metropolis is another debate that draws the attention of researchers, little explored in audiovisual productions about Brasília. In addition to that, one can’t ignore the large number of inhabitants in a city that was not made for pedestrians, but for cars — a topic that is worth being talked about and that causes disruption in the urban life on some occasions. 

For the last ten years, Brazil has been through some trying moments in national politics, and Brasília has been the stage for these events for one simple reason: all branches of Brazil's federal government are located in the city. These political spaces are, for the most part, open to the public and hold a limit of up to 30,000 people, with a wide open area that allows passage through the most important government buildings in the country, so that all Brazilian citizens and foreign visitors can get to know up close the political environment of one of the largest democracies in the world. Unfortunately, during the first week of 2023, supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded one of these areas, the Palacio do Planalto, which houses the presidential offices, due to dissatisfaction with the election results — similar to what happened in 2021 at the US Capitol Building.

Several documentaries, series and films have passed through Brasília in recent years. The city's audiovisual production has increased, with a focus on the creation of works with political, social or structural themes, such as Brasília: Life After Design by Bart Simpson, and 2020 Oscar nominee The Edge of Democracy by Petra Costa. The biographical film We Are So Young by Antonio Carlos da Fontoura was inspired by the story of the Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana, which was formed in Brasília, and The Last Drive-In Theater, a dramedy film shot in the Brazilian capital was directed by the famous Iberê Carvalho, who was born and raised in Brasília.

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Image by Wikipedia

03  Where politics meets art

"Okay okay, these are all great practical reasons, but what would I film?" you might ask. Well, Brasília is one of the most-populous centers in Brazil, and despite having several attractive points such as parks and museums, the great content is at the political centers: specifically, in the architecture and history of these places.

The Square of Three Powers, for example. Its name comes from the presence of the three governmental powers around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the Palacio do Planalto (presidential office); the Legislative, represented by the National Congress; and the Judiciary, represented by the Supreme Federal Court. What is special about these places is that they were all meticulously created by Niemeyer, with a unique breathtaking structure, where each building is an example of his revolution in modern architecture. The Cathedral of Brasília, also one of Niemeyer's designs, is described as the place where "modernity and religion meet". Honoring the president responsible for creating the city is the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge and the J.K. Memorial. The city also has many other notable structures with a lot of history to be uncovered, such as the Itamaraty Palace and the Dom Bosco Sanctuary.

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05   The city of connections