The cinema as an expression of the lives and dreams of young people on the outskirts of São Paulo

Processos criativos na produção cinematográfica em São Paulo

Abstract

The arts are forms of dialogical action that are enhanced by the popularization of communication technologies. For young people, in multi-platform film production, the “real” and “virtual” territories are presented as being complementary. The objective of this study, undertaken based on the analysis of 48 films from the collection of the Kinoforum Workshops, is to bring out the predominant socio-cultural elements lying behind cinema production by young people of 15-25 years of age living on the outskirts of São Paulo. Films were analyzed in terms of the themes that emerged from the découpage, thus constituting a social narrative. The results revealed three thematic axes: Religion-Spirituality; Leisure-Use of free time; Social mobility-Affectivity. The social narratives establish differences between territories as also the awareness of the lack of infrastructure and basic social equipment in inherent to the localities pictured. It is concluded that the films bring out the lifestyles and social codes of each suburb on the outskirts, engendering a powerful logical alternative which seeks to legitimize social rights, including that of sharing their real situation on the screen and on the Internet.