Olhares sobre o cinema de mulheres negras: encruzilhadas, afetos e resistências

Abstract

This dissertation critically analyzes the images constructed in films directed and/or scripted by Black women between 2010 and 2017, employing the concept of the crossroads as a methodological approach. From a situated perspective, I assume the position of a Black female spectator, understanding the gaze as a field of meaning-making that articulates both subjective and collective experiences. To this end, I examine the films Cores e Botas (2010), O Dia de Jerusa (2014), Cinzas (2015), and Café com Canela (2017), establishing a dialogue between their images and fabulations. I argue that these productions not only rework specific aesthetics and narratives but also mobilize processes of self-representation, enabling both the construction of self-narratives and the creation of visualities anchored in Black memory, identity, and ancestry. The analysis is developed through the concepts of Black cinemas, race, representation, affect, and ritual performance, drawing on theoretical contributions from scholars such as Achille Mbembe, bell hooks, Denise Carrascosa, Edileuza Penha de Souza, Florentina Souza, Leda Maria Martins, Mayana Soares, Stuart Hall, among others. This study interrogates how these films challenge and re-signify the regimes of visibility historically imposed on Black women in audiovisual media.As a result, this research concludes that Black Women’s Cinema generates images that not only contest hegemonic frameworks but also promote epistemological and aesthetic shifts, expanding the visual grammars of contemporary cinema.