76 minutes / Color
English subtitles
Release: 2007
Copyright: 1996
O AMOR NATURAL is a documentary film about the erotic poetry of one of the greatest Latin American poets of the 20th century, the Brazilian Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987).
The erotic poems of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, a household name in Brazil, remained unpublished during his lifetime, as he feared they would be deemed pornographic. In this celebration of his poetry and sensual vision, elderly residents of Rio read his poems and comment on their graphic, voluptuous imagery with tremendous candor and enthusiasm. "We're old. We're not dead!" interjects one reader, as memories of stolen pleasures and bittersweet melancholy unfold. Says filmmaker Heddy Honigmann: "The poems sometimes functioned as a kind of corkscrew, sometimes as a glass of water, sometimes as a glass of brandy."
"An idiosyncratic homage to Brazil's most beloved poet. A lovely film!" —Village Voice
"Approaching literature not through critical analysis but through its effect on everyday people - in this case, elderly Brazilians gamely reciting the poet's voluptuous verses - this warm, simple film uncovers a rich vein of ageless, grassroots sensuality and joie de vivre." —Variety
"A touching fresco of art, memory and desire." —Chicago Tribune
"A deceptively simple approach to the erotic poetry of Brazil's cherished laureate. As surprising as it is moving." —LA Weekly
Select Accolades
A poignant tour of the importance of art in the lives of visitors to the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, the final resting place for legendary writers, composers, painters and other artists from around the world.
Heddy Honigmann | 2007 | 95 minutes | Color | French | English subtitles
Heddy Honigmann's latest film focuses on Peru's capital city of Lima, revealing the contrasts of wealth and poverty, and how its poorest citizens have survived decades of economic crisis and corruption.
Heddy Honigmann | 2009 | 93 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
Documentary profile of musicians who play on the sidewalks of Paris and in the Metro.
Heddy Honigmann | 1999 | 108 minutes | Color | French; Spanish | English subtitles
