APPOINTMENT WITH SILVIO TENDLER: GEOGRAPHY, CINEMA AND LIFE

Abstract

Documentarist and historian Silvio Tendler (Rio de Janeiro, 1950) has a vast cinematographic work with undeniable geographic appeal. Two of his films deal with the life and work of highly respected Brazilian geographers: Josué de Castro and Milton Santos. His encounter with Santos, this craftsman admits, will have an indelible and permanent impact on his life and his cinema. In the interview on screen, we discuss this influence, the experiences of the so-called “filmmaker of interrupted dreams” in his hometown and around the world, and we undertake a panoramic and synthetic flight over his filmography of over 80 titles. To this end, we asked the director to comment on previously selected productions that explicitly explore concepts dear to geographic science, such as land, territory, environment, globalization, urbanization and agriculture. In the end, after revisiting his own work from another perspective, Tendler is categorical: “I am a geographer. I am.”