Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the new cinematographic languages emerging in contemporary documentary made in Brazil, discussing the use of cell phones as a filmic self-representation equipment. It seeks to understand how this new language advances in the documentary field and how this “selfie” device implies new poetic and narrative expressions. Therefore, we will analyze two documentary films, the feature film “Cinema de amor” (Edson Bastos and Henrique Filho, 2019) and the short film “à beira do planeta mainha soprou a gente” (Bruna Barros and Bruna Castro, 2020). The hybridization process of narrative fiction can be identified in these two films, which leads us to ask whether this process can be a significant means for building new fields of experimentation for the “self” on screen. It is possible to pay attention to the new codes and conventions that arise to give voice to political-identity discourses in which aspects of the personal experience and the subjectivity of the filmmakers expands the relation to what belongs to the private domain and what belongs to the public domain, alternating between them.