Football and cinema in Brazil: an entanglement

Abstract

Fertile and infinite are the relational possibilities between football and film, two of the greatest spectacles of the contemporary world. In Brazil, efforts to establish and develop a Brazilian football and cinema began in the early decades of the twentieth century, and continue to face contradictions and conflicts, both internal and external. Football and cinema arrived in Brazil at the same historical juncture and were also part of the same social spaces, historical times, class origin and similar popularisations, and are also component parts of our ethos and collective identities. One must discuss these realities and relationships, because in Brazil there are many more films about football than one might think, yet much fewer than there should be. This article intends to discuss some of the issues involved in these relationships and to reflect on the production of films about football