Cinemateca Brasileira Acervo

History and Founding

The Cinemateca Brasileira traces its origins to the Clube de Cinema de São Paulo, founded in 1940 by Paulo Emílio Salles Gomes and colleagues from the University of São Paulo. Following affiliation with the São Paulo Modern Art Museum (MAM) in 1949 as the Filmoteca do Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, the institution became an independent non-profit civil society in 1956, adopting the name Cinemateca Brasileira. It was incorporated into the federal government in 1984 and transferred to the Ministry of Culture's Audiovisual Secretariat in 2003. Since 2021, the institution has been managed by the Sociedade Amigos da Cinemateca (SAC). The current facilities are located in the former Old Municipal Slaughterhouse in the Vila Clementino neighborhood of São Paulo, adapted for use in 1992 as a UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage site.

Collections and Holdings

The Cinemateca Brasileira holds the largest audiovisual archive in Latin America, with approximately 250,000 rolls of film totaling around 60,000 titles, as well as more than one million documents related to cinema. Collections span genres from feature films and documentaries to newsreels, animation, home movies, telenovelas, and advertising. Notable holdings include: the Fundo Tupi, comprising audiovisual materials and documentation from TV Tupi (Brazil's first television network, 1950–1980); early nitrate prints from the late 19th century; newsreel collections from the 1930s (Cine Jornal Brasileiro); and personal archives of major Brazilian filmmakers including Glauber Rocha, Fernando Duarte, and Ana Carolina. The archive is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) since 1948.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

The collection includes the extensive TV Tupi Fund, with telerreportagens and television journalism from Brazil's first network, as well as documentary and newsreel footage from government agencies spanning the 1930s to 1970s. The archive preserves materials from Brazilian film critics and journalists, including the personal collection of film journalist Dulce Damasceno de Brito.

Access and Usage

The Cinemateca's digital catalog (Banco de Conteúdos Culturais) provides online access to over 100,000 records at bcc.org.br. Physical and on-site consultations are available at the São Paulo facilities. The institution has two public screening rooms. Since 2021 it also provides the Videoteca Digital Carlos Monsiváis for on-site viewing of digitized materials.