Ethnography of fiction in cinema

Considerations based on Dry Ground Burning (Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós, 2022)

Abstract

This article investigates how filmmakers Adirley Queirós and Joana Pimenta, in their feature film Mato seco em chamas (2022), create a cinematic theory on the ethnography of fiction, addressing issues related to territory, culture, and peripheral memories. Our investigation is based on concepts proposed by the filmmakers in dialogue with propositions from other authors discussed in the text, such as notions of the periphery as a place of culture and power (D’Andrea, 2013; Santos, 2001) and production models linked to the logic of audiovisual collectives (Venanzoni, 2021). The hypothesis under investigation concerns the ethnography of fiction as a localized cinematic formulation, as a narrative construction, at the threshold between fiction and documentary, and, in terms of production, focused on the very collectivity of the peripheral communities of the Federal District. By fictionalizing the story of real people and events, the ethnography of fiction creates a fabular space where the periphery becomes the center of its own representation. Through codes and archetypes of sci-fi and western genres, the filmmakers transform the real memories of three peripheral women into a legend that founds a new nation in the satellite cities of the Federal District.