Art Ratton

I was the cinematographer for most of this really well succeed documentary and also a producer of a few of the segments. This doc premiered at the MoMa Museum in New York and was screened in more than fifty film festivals around the world(among them SXSW, HOT DOCS, IN edit, Chicago International Film festival and Rio Cine Festival). It tells the story of Brazilian Music out side Brazil, most in the USA, covering a story that begins in the 40′s till today. We used multiple formats as Mini DV, HD, super 8 and 16mm to accomplish a very unique and eclectic look . It shows my skills as a stage/music performance cameraman, my sit down interview style and creative approach and my  cinematography documentary style. We also shot reenactments, so it also showcase my narrative style. I am really interested in getting  involved in different and ambitious documentary projects like this one.Let me know about  your project.I probably can bring a lot of visual input to it and help you to fine tuning your narrative.

When Carmen Miranda first set foot in New York City for her Broadway debut in 1939, Americans experienced love-at-first-sight with Brazilian culture. The profound fascination of Americans with Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian-Jazz and Brazilectro has been the subject of many compilations, but now for the first time, the story is being told in detail by its main players in the documentary “Beyond Ipanema – America’s Love Affair with Brazilian Music”. Featuring interviews, new performances and classic archival footage, the film will revisit milestones such as Carmen Miranda’s Hollywood heyday, the obsession with the Girl from Ipanema, the timeless Bossa Nova recordings by Frank Sinatra, the commercial success of Sergio Mendes, Caetano Veloso’s acclaimed American performances, the rediscovery of Tropicália and Os Mutantes by college kids, the current seduction of Bebel Gilberto, and much more

Since I’ve met Joel Stones, Brazilian wild man, connoisseur of  psychedelic music from around the world and the owner of one of the best record shops in New York City while shooting the documentary Beyond Ipanema, we became friends (really good friends) and I’ve sort of took the position as the official” in house “filmmaker for the store.Its a lot of fun.Besides all the  crazy parties and many nights of crazy debates in the store backroom we started to collaborate in many art projects like a web radio documentary show(we managed to document what was going on at the store at weekly at east village radio playing Brazilian music and beyond), a short documentary that was released within the CD version of Joel’s now famous compilation “Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas” ,music videos and many weird but really fun fast paced films. Below are two examples: a promo for Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas and a film portrait of Brazilian iconic singer actress Zéze Motta .