Soldados da borracha
a film by Wolney Oliveira
Brazil| documentary | HD | color | 82 min | 2019
About this film
Synopsis
The saga of the “rubber soldiers” —20 century slaves & forgotten war heroes.
The “rubber soldiers” program was part of a Brazil-United States Agreement during World War II. About 60,000 men were compulsorily drafted from drought-ridden Brazilian northeast to harvest rubber in the Amazon rainforest to guarantee the supply of rubber, critical to the Allied war effort. For most of them, it was a one-way journey. Almost 50% of all “rubber soldiers” died in the rainforest. More than 60 years after the war ended, a few hundreds of survivors remain, most of them still living in the Amazon. Elderly and frail, they are fighting against time and indifference to gain the historical recognition and financial compensation they believe should be theirs.
Plot keywords
WWII, social justice & human rights, labor issues, biography, world history, military-industrial complex, Brazil, US-Brazil relations, rubber, Amazon
Crew & Cast
Original title: Soldados da borracha
International title: Rubber soldiers
Idioma original: Portuguese
Produced and directed by: Wolney Oliveira
Executive producer: Margarita Hernandez
Script: Wolney Oliveira & Margarita Hernandez
Cinematography & camera operation : Eusélio Gadelha, Juarez Pavelack, Joe Pimentel & Rogerio Resende
Sound: Jose Moreau Lozeiro, Fernando Cavalcante & Lênio Oliveira
Sound assistant: Leo Oliveira
Sound mixer: Bruno Poubel
Editing: Leyda Napoles & Mair Tavares
Music by: DJ Dolores
Production Companies: Corte Seco Filmes & Bucanero Filmes
Festivals & Awards
- Winner. Best Documentary Award, granted by the Brazilian Association of Documentary Filmmmakers – SP. It’s all true Film Fest 2019
- Winner. Brasil Trophy. Itaú Cultural 2019
- Mostra Territorio Brasil. 52 Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro 2019
- Official Selection. Documentary Competion. Havana Film Festival 2019
- Winner. Best Sound Design (José Louzeiro, Lenio Oliveira e Fernando Cavalcante). Feature-length Competition. Aruanda Film Festival. Brasil 2019
- Winner. Best Editing (Mair Tavares e Leyda Nápoles). Feature-length Competition. Aruanda Film Festival. Brasil 2019
- Winner. Best Feature-length Film. Aruanda Film Festival. Brasil 2019
- Winner. Audience Award for Best Feature-length Film. Aruanda Film Festival. Brasil 2019
- Winner. Mistika Award. Aruanda Film Festival. Brasil 2019
- Winner. Audience Award. Best Latin-american Film. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Winner. Best Film. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Winner. Best Feature-length Documentary Script Award. Festival Amazonia Doc. Brasil 2020
- Winner. Best Feature. 53 Communication Awards granted by the CNBB (Brazil’s National Conference of Catholic Bishops) 2021
Sinopsis
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, un acuerdo de cooperación entre los gobiernos de Brasil y Estados Unidos llevó a unos 60,000 habitantes de la región noroeste de Brasil hacia el Amazonas a trabajar en la extracción de látex, considerada estratégica para la maquinaria de guerra estadounidense. La mitad de ellos murieron antes de regresar a casa. Los pocos que aún sobreviven, ya ancianos y pasando dificultades económicas, todavía sueñan con ser reconocidos como “héroes de la patria” , mientras aguardan el prometido retiro equivalente al de los militares.
Ficha técnica
Título original: Soldados da borracha
Título internacional: Rubber soldiers
Idioma original: portugués
Dirección y producción: Wolney Oliveira
Producción ejecutiva: Margarita Hernández
Guión: Wolney Oliveira y Margarita Hernandez
Dirección de fotografía y cámera: Eusélio Gadelha, Juarez Pavelak, Joe Pimentel y Rogério Resende
Sonido: José Moreau Louzeiro, Fernando Cavalcante y Lênio Oliveira
Asistente de sonido: Leo Oliveira
Banda sonora: DJ Dolores
Mezcla: Bruno Poubel
Montaje: Leyda Nápoles e Mair Tavares
Compañías productoras: Bucanero Filmes y Corte Seco Filmes
Festivales y premios
- Premio al Mejor Documental, otorgado por la Asociación Brasileña de Realizadores de Documentales – SP. Festival É tudo verdade. São Paulo, 2019
- Trofeo Brasil. Itaú Cultural 2019
- Mostra Territorio Brasil. 52 Festival de Cine de Brasilia 2019
- Selección Oficial. Competencia de Documentales. Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. La Habana, 2019
- Mejor Sonido (José Louzeiro, Lenio Oliveira e Fernando Cavalcante). Competencia de Largometrajes Sob o Céu Nordestino. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Mejor Edición (Mair Tavares e Leyda Nápoles). Competencia de Largometrajes Sob o Céu Nordestino. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Mejor Largometraje. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Premio del Público al Mejor Largometraje. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Premio Mistika. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Premio del Público. Mejor Film da la Competencia Latinoamericana. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Mejor Film. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Mejor Guión de Largometraje. Festival Amazonia Doc. Brasil 2020
- Margarida de Prata, Mejor Largometraje. 53ª Edição dos Prêmios de Comunicação da CNBB 2021.
Sinopse
Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, um acordo de cooperação entre os governos do Brasil e dos Estados Unidos levou cerca de 60 mil nordestinos para a região amazônica para trabalhar na extração de látex destinado à indústria americana de armamentos. Metade deles morreu antes de voltar para casa e muitos outros ainda esperam o reconhecimento como “heróis da pátria” e a prometida aposentadoria equivalente à dos militares.
Ficha técnica
Título original: Soldados da borracha
Título internacional: Rubber soldiers
Idioma original: português
Direção e produção: Wolney Oliveira
Produção executiva: Margarita Hernández
Roteiro: Wolney Oliveira & Margarita Hernandez
Direção de fotografia e operação de câmera: Eusélio Gadelha, Juarez Pavelak, Joe Pimentel e Rogério Resende
Operação de som: José Moreau Louzeiro, Fernando Cavalcante e Lênio Oliveira
Assistente de som: Leo Oliveira
Trilha Sonora: DJ Dolores
Mixagem: Bruno Poubel
Montagem: Leyda Nápoles e Mair Tavares
Empresa produtora: Bucanero Filmes e Corte Seco Filmes
Festivais e prêmios
- Melhor Documentário pela Associação Brasileira de Documentaristas de São Paulo. Festival É Tudo Verdade 2019
- Troféu Brasil. Itaú Cultural 2019
- Mostra Território Brasil. 52 Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro 2019
- Seleção Oficial. Mostra Competitiva de Documentário. Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. Havana, 2019
- Melhor Som (José Louzeiro, Lenio Oliveira e Fernando Cavalcante). Mostra Competitiva de Longas Metragens Sob o Céu Nordestino. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Melhor Edição (Mair Tavares e Leyda Nápoles). Mostra Competitiva de Longas Metragens Sob o Céu Nordestino. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Melhor Longa-Metragem. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Melhor Longa-Metragem pelo Júri Popular. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Prêmio da empresa Mistika. Festival Aruanda. Brasil 2019
- Melhor Longa-metragem da Competição Latino-americana. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Melhor Filme. 9ª Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema Ambiental. Brasil 2020
- Melhor Roteiro de Longa Metragem. Festival Amazonia Doc. Brasil 2020
- Margarida de Prata, Melhor longa-metragem. 53ª Edição dos Prêmios de Comunicação da CNBB 2021
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Press reviews
“Full of fascinating characters such as rubber tapper Lourdes, ‘Rubber Soldiers’ is the narrative of the vanquished, who never received the laurels for their invaluable contribution to the greatest military conflict of the 20th century…The second Rubber Era in the Amazon region fulfilled a key role in the geopolitics of the world – even if almost nobody knows it.” [Full Review in Portuguese]
Lorenna Montenegro. CENAS DE CINEMA (Brazil)
“The film combines information and emotion, and even leaves room for humor. The surviving elders reveal themselves as captivating storytellers; Their voices, which sometimes sing nostalgic songs as well, challenge a State that – like other Latin American States – exploits its citizens and contracts debts with them that it never pays.” [Full Review in Spanish]
Emilio Bustamante. CINENCUENTRO (Peru)
“A combination of the unfamiliar environment; attacks by indigenous tribespeople; poisonous insects and snakes; and diseases like malaria, yellow fever and typhus killed the rubber soldiers in droves. Garfield estimates one-third of the enlisted may have died within the first year. Other sources, such as SINDSBOR, say up to half the men may have died before the war ended…But even such imprecise numbers indicate that the toll of World War II on Brazil was many times higher in the Amazon than in the battlefields of Europe, where 457 Brazilian troops out of 25,000 died.” [Full Review]
The frail, forgotten army from the Amazon. Juliana Barbassa. ALJAZEERA AMERICAS
“Rubber Soldiers reminds us of the country’s historic wounds” [Full Review in Spanish]
CINEMA NEWS (Mexico)