Ivan Cardoso
Biography
Ivan do Espírito Cardoso Filho (Born in Rio de Janeiro, October 1st, 1952) is a Brazilian photographer and filmmaker. Cardoso's early career is mainly associated with experimental short films such as 1971's "Nosferatu no Brasil' (Nosfaratu in Brazil), starring poet and songrwriter Torquato Neto, of whom Cardoso was a good friend. Though his work as an experimental filmmaker continued to develop in short films through a career that spans for over four decades, his most famous and recognizable feature-length movies are the ones that mix horror and comedy elements, described by Cardoso as "terrir" ("terror" + "rir", which is a word for "laugh" in Brazilian Portuguese). "As Sete Vampiras" (The Seven Vampire Ladies), "O Segredo da Múmia" (The Secret of the Mummy) and "Um Lobisomem na Amazônia" (A Werewolf in the Amazon Rainforest) are prominent films among Cardoso's terrir works. Documentaries on fellow Brazilian filmmakers, such as Glauber Rocha and José Mojica Marins, and on plastic artists such as avan-garte icon Helio Oiticica also figure among his filmography. He mantains channels in websites such as YouTube and Vimeo, where lots of his short films, from the most well-known to the most underground ones, are avaliable for free.
Known For & Full Filmography21 Titles
Movie - 1976, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Cropped hair, a rosemary branch behind the ear, yellow shirt of shiny satin, he's behind the wheel of his car when passing by a woman who walks by the roadside. Strongly painted lips, printed dress with round skirt and red shoes matching the color of the lipstick, she catches his attention. He gives her a ride, the two of them stare in silence for a few moments. They introduce themselves to one another and between the two establishes an absurd dialogue and full of metaphors. And they are driving around in corners of Rio de Janeiro, to the sound of Noel Rosa and Lamartine Babo. Eva and Antena, she a seer, he, an assassin on the run, initiate an unusual case of love, a marginal love, where boredom often gives way to tragedy, creating the agony of a holiday spent in an abyss.
Movie - 2017, 2h 15m • as Self
A rescue of the history of Ipanema beach in the 1970s, when the construction of a pier changed the landscape and created fertile soil for a generation of artists and sportsmen.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
After taking part in a satanic orgy at a beach in 1850, Macário meets Exú-Lebara, a female pagan entity. She decides to go along in his trip but tricks him into going to 2008 São Paulo.
Movie - 2000, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A look into the Porto Fantastic Film Festival at Portugal.
Movie - 1995, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
The history of Brazilian popular music in the 20th Century, focusing specially on the life and works of intriguing singer Mário Reis, a loner who, with his special way of singing - whispering and softly saying the words - in a time when singers with potent voices ruled, was in a way a forerunner of Bossa Nova style.
Movie - 2007, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1997, 2h 15m • as Figurante 2 no Festival de Gramado
Super Chacrinha and Glauber Rocha, two millionaires from the earthly plane of Varathrum, manipulate the people around them, including Deus and the Devil, so that their artistic industrial conglomerates grow.
Movie - 2007, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Comedy/horror short film shot during a 4-day workshop of filmmaking at 2007's MOTELx Lisbon International Horror Film Festival.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Experimental documentary short that debates over Rogério Sganzerla's Brazilian cult classic "The Red Light Bandit".
Movie - 2023, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
23 years in the making, “Pereio, Eu Te Odeio!” is a documentary on legendary Brazilian actor Paulo Cesar Pereio, an irreverent and controversial artist and public figure, as told by the testimonies of friends, family, and society members who hate him.
Movie - 2020, 2h 15m • as Self
Ivan Cardoso is the inventor of the terrir, a subgenre that mixes comedy, Brazilian chanchadas and classic American horror. This film promotes a rescue of his work by mixing archival material, animations and fictional reconstructions.
Movie - 2013, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 2005, 2h 15m • as Himself (archive footage)
A short documentary on Belair, an independent Brazilian film company that lasted for only five months in 1970.
Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • as Self (archive footage)
A journey through 40 years of life of the most important Film Festival in Portugal, through the voice of its President and Director, Mário Dorminsky and Beatriz Pacheco Pereira. Born at a coffee shop table in the "Invicta" - Porto City, with a subsidy of 15 "contos" (75EUR), since 1981 it hasn't stopped bringing us cinema, and given its weight and peculiarity, The project developed and soon became a reality, with the screening of several sessions a day, the realization of retrospectives and, also, in parallel, the promotion of concerts and art exhibitions. It is considered the biggest film festival in Portugal, and internationally recognized as one of the most important worldwide, and is now entering its 40th edition.
Movie - 1978, 2h 15m • as Himself
An unusual look at 1978 Brasilia Film Festival and the politics that make certain films fashionable or not.
Movie - 2020, 2h 15m • as Self
A totally Cardoso-appropriated footage delirium, done as a tribute to US independent cinema's original rebel. In the end, Corman himself blesses Cardoso by saying: "You blended horror, sex and humour very well. And particularly the editing is very good because the film never lagged or slowed down". Which film? This one!
Movie - 1997, 2h 15m • as Self
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 2003, 2h 15m • as Salesman
Antônio wants to give his girlfriend, the prostitute Ioiô, a star. He meets a Salesman who claims he can get one for him, with certificate included! After many negotiations, Antônio finds out he has been taken in.
Movie - 2012, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A documentary on prolific underground Brazilian filmmaker Rogério Sganzerla.
Movie - 2007, 2h 15m • as Narrador
A couple in crisis is about the Brazilian middle class.
Movie - 2017, 2h 15m • as Self
The story of Brazilian poet Torquato Neto, who lived passionately through fracturous times and worked in several fields, including music, journalism, and cinema. He was an active participant in the revolution of Tropicália and marginal art, which changed the course of Brazilian culture in the 1960s and 1970s, until he committed suicide on his 28th birthday.