Slide thumbnailJair Rodrigues - Let them talk

The story of Jair Rodrigues, one of the most brilliant and influential Brazilian singers. With an open smile and unique versatility, he sang samba, MPB, rap, country and made a revolution on the stages, with his anarchic and irreverent performances. Jair Rodrigues makes us dream about a nostalgic portrait of Brazil, a country marked by the simplicity, joy and optimism of its people. Where did this Brazil go? Is it possible to find it again?

Direction – Rubens Rewald

Script – Rubens Rewald & Rodolfo Castilho

Executive production – Fernanda Lomba & Rodolfo Castilho

Editing – Alexandre Lima, Guta Pacheco & Willem Dias

Photography – Sergio Roizenblit

Sound – João Godoy

Editing – Toco Cerqueira

Graphic design – Sato do Brasil

Animation – Átila Fragoso

Post production – Beto Bassi

Production design – Carla Caffé

Costumes – Nina Maria

Cast – Jair Oliveira

Preparation – Cristiano Paoli-Quito

Festivals

  • É TUDO VERDADE (2020) – Mostra Competitiva
  • Festival Inffinito (2020) – Mostra Competitiva
  • In-Edit (2021) – Mostra Competitiva
  • Mostra Brazilian Film Festival Chicago (2022) – Melhor Filme Voto Popular

Director’s notice

I met Jair in 2010, when I invited him to play the role of an old comedian in my film Super Nothing. I didn’t expect him to accept it, after all he was a star of the Brazilian Music Show Biz and I was a simple anonymous independent filmmaker. To my surprise, he accepted! “I have already achieved everything in music, this film business seems to be a good challenge”. And there we went, together, on that journey. Jair’s arrival on the set was always an event, radiating a tense and anxious space with joy. That smile, that happiness, always intrigued me. Was it a perfect mask shaped over the years or was it something genuine, a real existential utopia? One day, smiling as always, he asked me: What’s up, my director, are we going to make the Jair Rodrigues film or not? And so it started. And even his sudden death did not interrupt the dream of portraying this unique performer, a clown who teaches humanity and Brazilianness, a necessary light in these dark times.