Iconic movie costume Spamflix will open Cinema of Desire at the International Film Classics Market (MIFC) in Lyon, an ambitious restoration project in collaboration with Cinemateca Brasileira that brings back a missing piece of Brazilian cinema history.
The Lisbon-based platform is presenting a 4K restoration of The Magic Eye of Love (O Olho Mágico do Amor, 1982), the first of a trilogy by Icaro Martins and José Antonio García, as part of the MFC's Re>Birth program, a showcase of heritage works seeking restoration and distribution partners.
“This is the first market we're showing the project in, and it's special,” said Spamflix co-founder Julia Duarte. Diversity. “These films were part of a movement that was ahead of its time and arose from the desire for freedom under the dictatorship in Brazil.”
The Magic Eye of Love is set in the run-down São Paulo neighborhood of Boca do Lixo. It follows Vera, a secretary who discovers a hole in her office wall that leads to an adjacent hotel room occupied by a prostitute—a portal that awakens her fantasies and changes her life.
The film, which won several awards, began the so-called “Trilogy of Desire”, completed by Onda Nova (1983) and The Naked Star (Estrela Nua, 1985), with plans to include a fourth film, The Body (1991), García's solo work. All four have been digitized by Cinematica Brasileira.
The Cinema of Desire project revisits the São Paulo New Cinema movement (Novo Cinema Paulista), a short-lived but influential wave of independent filmmaking that emerged in the early 1980s. According to Duarte, he grew out of the films of “pornochanchada” – a popular genre at the end of the Brazilian dictatorship that combined eroticism and comedy – but rejected their sexist moralism. “It was something more,” she said. “They gave a voice to women. Although they are not so well known even in Brazil, these films played an important role in Brazilian cinema“she added, noting that her goal after this project is to continue highlighting the work of marginalized Brazilian filmmakers.
These films, made as Brazil's dictatorship was losing control, indirectly confronted repression by turning sensuality into an act of defiance. Duarte sees their work as Brazil's response to early [Pedro] Almodóvar, combining the freedom, humor and emotional excess of Spain's Movida Madrileña with the urban and political tensions of Brazil.
The movement itself was short-lived, as local exhibitors favored imported publications and commercial pornography. After state distributor Embrafilme was liquidated in 1990, national production virtually collapsed, silencing an entire generation of filmmakers.
The project builds on the momentum of Onda Nova, a strange erotic comedy about female soccer players challenging prejudice under the Brazilian dictatorship. The film's 4K restoration premiered at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival and was subsequently screened at festivals in Europe and Latin America. It opened in Brazil in March of this year and just signed a U.S. distribution deal with Brooklyn-based Muscle Distribution.
“Onda Nova is exactly the kind of movie Muscle loves: accessible and fun, but also viciously subversive and truly dangerous for its time,” said Muscle founder Elizabeth Purchall. Diversity. “We’re thrilled to be working with Spamflix and bringing it to North American audiences for the first time.”
Duarte and her partner Markus Daffner plan to premiere Cinema of Desire in Brazil next year, followed by screenings at festivals and cinematheques to mark the 20th anniversary of José Antonio García's death and his 70th birthday.
For Spamflix, best known as a former VOD platform with a focus on cult and avant-garde cinema, Cinema of Desire marks a significant step into the world of film heritage and rights management.
“It’s the same idea for us.” – Duarte explained. “Through our work, we are now also caring for film heritage, providing the opportunity to see unique works that deserve to be seen again.”
“The Magic Eye of Love” is one of nine films that will be presented as part of the MIFC “Revival” program on October 19.
Running next to Lumiere Film Festival Lyon MICC will take place from 14 to October. 19.
