According to watchtutorials.org, the situation in Rio de Janeiro was different, where a cinema dedicated to young audiences was developed: films of pure escapism that told love stories between boys, in which surfing and rock were fundamental elements. Menino do Rio (1981) by Antonio Calmon marked the beginnings of this new trend, later enriched by another ‘classic’ of the genre with an unequivocal title, Garota dourada (1984), again by Calmon, and, in the second half of the decade, by productions that represent the first examples of musical films for children: Tropclip (1984) by Luiz Fernando Goulart, Rádio pirata (1987) and Rock estrela (1986) by Lael Rodrigues, Banana split (1988) by Paulo Sérgio de Almeida, products derived from television programs most followed by young people and which anticipated the aesthetics of video clips. Ivan Cardoso deserves a separate mention: Solitary director trained above all through American television series, horror and b-movies of American science fiction of the 1940s and 1950s, Cardoso created the film genre called terrir (a term born from the contraction of the Portuguese words terror, terror and rir, laughter) which conjugated the American b-movies and the stylistic experiments of Cinema Marginal: among the most relevant titles O segredo da mumia (1982), A sete vampiras (1986), O escorpião escarlate (1989). the comparison with the different markets, the making of films aimed at specific audiences, the relationship with the various audiovisual languages, from television to video, are complex. Over the course of the decade, however, mainly due to the spread of television, the rich production of the beginnings progressively impoverished until it reached one of the lowest points in the history of national cinema: productions and attendance in theaters decreased. Despite this, the films produced forced the Brazil and his cinema to the attention of international audiences and critics: O beijo da mulher aranha (1985; The Kiss of the Spider Woman) by Babenco, played by the now famous Sonia, cannot be forgotten. Braga and based on a novel by M. Puig.

The signs of a new success: the nineties

The years of national reconstruction, started in the country with a plan of privatization and containment of public spending, began for the cinema under the sign of the crisis. Production continued to drop considerably (only 24 films were produced in 1990 and even 17 the following year), no new authors emerged and many established directors risked unemployment and sought employment on television or in commercial break. An interesting film like Stelinha (1990) by Miguel Faria Jr, winner of the Gramado Festival, remains an isolated case. to allocate 3% of the tax on profits to the cinema instead of to the tax authorities; two films have earned good sales, Lamarca (1993), a biopic by Sérgio Rezende, and Carlota Joaquina, princesa do Brasil (1994), a historical comedy by Carla Camurati. But the real revival came two years later, with Tieta do Agreste (1996; Tieta do Brasil) by C. Diegues, based on the novel by J. Amado and starring Sonia Braga: the film marked the return of Brazilian cinema on screens from all over the world and at the same time that of Sonia Braga, who had been missing from the Brazilian scene for twelve years. Important for the reaffirmation of national cinema abroad were the Oscar nominations for best foreign film by O que é isso, companheiro? (1997; 4 days in September) by Brazil Barreto, and Central do Brasil (1997) by Walter Salles Jr. These successes have ensured the presence of Brazilian cinema in international distribution circuits, also thanks to the participation of new or rediscovered talents at film festivals. Among the most successful titles of the decade there are Baile perfumado (1996) by Paulo Caldas and Lirio Ferreira, Os matadores (1997) and Açao entre amigos (1998) by Beto Brant, Um céu de estrelas (1997) by Tata Amaral, São Jerônimo (1999) by J. Bressane, O viajante (1999) by PC Saraceni, two directors, the latter, already active in the previous decades in the movements of Cinema Nôvo and Cinema Marginal, testifying to a certain continuity traceable in the fragmentation that characterizes the history of national cinema.A continuity that can emerge even if we take into consideration the another decisive aspect of the country’s film production: J.-C. Bernadet, a recognized Brazilian critic, has repeatedly proposed a history of Brazilian cinema that focuses on short films, newsreels and documentaries. The reasons for this proposal are first of all the high number of this kind of productions compared to that of feature films and then the fact that they directly reflect the contradictions and trends of the 20th century Brazil O cineasta da selva (1997), made by Aurelio Michiles, is a biography that combines fiction and reality, a tribute to Silvino Santos, a pioneer of Brazilian documentary cinema whose work can represent an entire generation of directors, photographers and cameramen who they left a vivid testimony of the constantly changing Brazilian reality.