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An insight into the life and work of celebrated painter Paula Rego directed by her son, the film maker Nick Willing. Notoriously private and guarded, Rego opens up for the first time surprising her son with secrets and stories of her unique life, battling fascism, a misogynistic art world and depression.
Twenty-five years ago the renowned art critic Robert Hughes made The Shock of the New, a landmark television series that examined the key cultural movement of the 20th Century. Now he's back to look at more recent work and to question whether modern art can still be shocking in its originality and understanding. In an age of media saturation it's perhaps even harder to tell what is good art and what is bad; but Hughes cuts through the marketing and the hype to reveal the art that is vital and will last; the art which defines the times in which we live. In a film which features interviews with David Hockney, Paula Rego, Jeff Koons and Sean Scully, Robert Hughes makes the case that painting, drawing, and the search for beauty matter more than ever before.
Born in Portugal, Paula Rego is one of Britain's leading artists. This intimate film follows the artist from her retrospective in Madrid to the privacy of her studio in London while she talks with humor and candor about her compulsion to produce works that, though accessible, deal with the most private themes.
The story is settled in the Middle Ages when three monotheistic religions coexisted and fought for power in the Spanish Peninsula: Christians, Muslims and Jews. The series mixes action, intrigue and love in the Castilian capital of Toledo. It shows us about all those who lived in the walls of a city full of ups and downs, labyrinths and shady hiding places.
The documentary is a dive into this universe that Ariano Suassuna built with his Art (work) and his Life. His novels and characters. Your utopias. Your Quaderna, as the driving force behind this mix. Theater performances. Poems. Show classes. Popular culture. The cordel. The rabeca. Brazil and its stones. The Armorial Movement. Their readings and representations. Based on unpublished interviews with artists and friends (family), as well as Ariano himself and a tour of his home, the documentary recreates his universe.
