FIREBRAND / MADAME SATÃ advanced screening and reception co-presented by Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival + Q&A with filmmaker Karim Aïnouz

By Oliver Carnay

An advanced screening of FIREBRAND, back to back with the screening of his debut feature MADAME SATÃ (2002) was held at the Aero Theatre.  Filmmaker Karim Aïnouz @karimainouz  arrived early at the Aero Theatre to attend the reception co-presented by Hollywood Brazilian Film Festivaland, and stayed for the Q&A.

FIREBRAND (opens today, June 14, in theatres nationwide) is a compelling historical thriller that sheds light on the often overlooked story of Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander gives a superb performance), the sixth wife of King Henry VIII (unrecognizable Jude Law is  equally brilliant as the tyrannical King), where in his final months, Parr consents to marry the King but carries great personal risk, given her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded or dead, she navigates the treacherous waters of the Tudor court. Parr’s progressive beliefs and courage put her at odds with the ailing and increasingly paranoid monarch. When Henry appoints her as Regent during his absence, Parr’s newfound power threatens the courtiers who scheme against her, casting doubt on her fidelity to the King.

MADAME SATÃ (2002) is the directorial debut of Aïnouz, a biographical account of João Francisco dos Santos, a drag queen/singer performer and notorious excon living in Rio de Janeiro during the 1930s, a revolutionary icon for society’s neglected during a time of upheaval in post-abolition Brazil.