NARRADORES DE JAVÉ 『The Story tellers』 Comedy Long movie - Fiction Duration: 100min - Color Year: 2002 Director: Eliane Caffé Synopsis: Nothing would change the daily routine of Javé Valley if it was not for the fact that a sudden threat of its extinction is imminent: Javé may disappear, flooded by the waters of a huge hydroelectric power plant. Facing this unfortunate news, the community decides to defend its existence using a rather uncommon strategy: it reunites the inhabitants of the village in order to write a dossier which brings evidence of “great” and “noble” happenings in the settlement in order to justify its preservation. Since the majority of the population is good at storytelling, but is mostly illiterate, there is a need to find a suitable clerk to perform the task. Antônio Biá is the one appointed, an anarchical individual of doubtful character, but the only person from Javé who is able to write. Although he is a controversial person, he will have full consent from everyone to listen to and to document the most important reports that will make up the village’s history. However, this very difficult task, since the population constantly disagrees about which rendering should be kept in the memory of its inhabitants. During the construction of this dossier, a poetic duel begins between the storytellers who argue with their legendary and fantastic stories the right to be a part of Jave’s history) Program B      Back Comments Born from an original argument, the film “JAVE VALLEY” explores the rich universe of storytellers that exist in the imaginary of Brazilian culture. Facing the threat of their own extinction, Jave´s population goes on to defend their greatest legacy: the memory of the “great” and “noble” events that helped to define their own identity. Using spoken art only, the inhabitants of Javé struggle to give verisimilitude to the legends, to the myths and to other aspects of their daily lives. However, the unanimous goal of creating a dossier which represents the “true history” of the village leads the inhabitants into a conflict, as each person argues which version of the stories should be in the “great book”. As the plot unrolls, the film brings to the screen the power of the oral narrative that continuously reconstructs and legitimates the memory and expression of communities that still resist the “constraints” and “rhetoric” of the modern world. On the other hand, by representing the rivalry between the inhabitants who contradict themselves in the different versions of the same story, the film also exposes the fictional, “political” and even arbitrary features that permeate the construction of any historical text. Consequently, there isn’t a singular protagonist, but a group that interacts in almost every scene; it is a “noisy” film to some extent, where the community sometimes expresses itself collectively but at other times it disunites in order to preserve people’s individuality. JAVE VALLEY is a film that pays a tribute to the storyteller that is in each one of us, although in large cities nowadays people seldom, if ever, get together to tell stories. Maybe this is why the oral narrative, the origin of which as well as its tradition is getting lost and fading away… and with it one of the most expressive ways humans have of perpetuating the identity of a population. The Director Eliane Caffé started her film-making career directiing three films – “O Nariz” (The Nose) / 1987, “Arabesco” (Arabesque) / 1990 and “Caligrama” (Caligram) / 1995, which won numerous awards in Brazil and on the international circuit. In 1997, she shot her first feature film “Kenoma” (Kenoma), which was selected for the 55th La Bienale di Venezia (Prospettive) and for the 23º Annual Showing – Toronto International Film Festival, and won various prizes, including the “ SOLEIL D’OR “ for Best Film – XX Biarritz International Film Festival / France. Cast and Crew Screenplay: Eliane Caffé Luiz Alberto Abreu Cast José Dumont, Nelson Xavier, Nelson Dantas, Gero Camilo, Matheus Nachtergaele, Rui Rezende and Luci Pereira Producers: Vânia Catani Editor: Daniel Rezende Sound Editor: Romeu Quinto Music: Dj Dolores E Orchestra Santa Massa Art Direction: Carla Caffé Cinematography: Hugo Kovensky Nominations & Awards Best film, best director, best editing, best actor, best supporting actor/actress •  Audiovisual Film Festival / Recife / 2003 – best film, best director, best editing, best actor (José Dumont), best supporting actor (Gero Camilo), best sound, best supporting actress (Luci Pereira), best sound edition, Critics prize. •  Fribourg International Film Festival / 2003 – Fipresci Prize •  Rio Film Festival / 2003 – best film (official jury and audience award), best actor (José Dumont) •  30th Brussels International Independent Film Festival – best film, best script •  VII Festival Internacional de Cine de Punta Del Este / 2004 – best film •  5º Festival de Cinema des 3 Ameriques / Quebec, 2004 - best fiction film