This distinctive historical material documents legendary eye-witnesses. They reflect on the emergence of Brazilian video art, the artists’ covert responses to socio-political circumstances and their quests to cultivate an inclusive national identity.

Arlindo Machado
(Brazilian,1949-2020) was a progressive São Paulo-based curator, critic and professor and among the first Brazilians to endorse the fine arts applications of electronic imagery.

Jom Tob Azulay
(Brazilian, b.1941; Rio-based) changed the trajectory of video art in Brazil, when he returned from his diplomatic post in Los Angeles with a Sony Portapak, for his own projects and to share with other artists. Noted as a filmmaker and producer, he also held a leadership position at Ancine, the national film agency created in 2001, as well as subsequent diplomatic positions. He served as  cameraman for several of Anna Bella Geiger’s first videos.

Fernando Cocchiarale
(Brazilian, b.1952; Rio de Janeiro-based) a curator, critic and academic, was a pioneer who championed video as a means for artistic expression.

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Carlos Zílio
(Brazilian, b.1944; Rio de Janeiro-based) is an artist, activist and professor. In the late 1960s he abandoned studio work to join the resistance. He was arrested by the military regime and renewed his practice while serving his sentence.

Audio transcription