A Nossa Banda

The documentary A Nossa Banda follows the story of Bruno, a twelve-year-old boy, and traces more than a century of history of Corporação Musical Maestro Ângelo Cosentino, a band founded in 1899 in Leme, a city in the hinterland of the state of São Paulo. A typical phenomenon of the nineteenth century, the bandstand bands started disappearing around the second half of the twentieth century due to difficulties of acquiring new members and spaces. While many of them ceased to exist, Leme’s bandstand band resisted. It still produces great musicians and influences generations, all of which is documented in this retrieval of an important Brazilian cultural heritage.

DIRECT SPONSORSHIP

Journalist João Correia Filho (Mó Documental) suggested the theme for this production. He was born in Leme and worried that such an important cultural manifestation had no official record of its history, no retrieval neither of its memory nor of its historical figures. We pursued the idea and, through direct sponsorship from local companies (without incentive laws), the video was produced and released in public square during Semana Seu Geraldo de Música, a musical event that has been happening in Leme for the past six years. Locals and the band took part in the release, during which the band performed. It resulted in the production of DVDs, part of which were distributed for free to all Leme’s schools and libraries. Another part was sold and a percentage of the income reverted to the band.

INTERNATIONAL PROMINENCE

Besides that, A Nossa Banda received international recognition. It was selected for the fifth Festival Internacional de Documentário Musical (an International Festival of Musical Documentary), In-Edit; for the seventh Festival CineMúsica, which happens in the town of Conservatória (Rio de Janeiro); and for Mostra Cena Cine Campinas. It also broadcasted on TV show Curta UNESP, at TV UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista – State University of São Paulo), which you can watch by clicking on the image below. Discover the story behind the story.