The Emptiness of the Backyard: An Interview with Eduardo Coutinho

José Carlos Avellar worked as a film critic for Jornal do Brasil from 1962–85 as well as for Cinemais and Escrever Cinema. He was cultural director of Embrafilme (1985–87), director of RioFilme (1994–2000), and has been an advisor for Brazilian cinema for the Berlinale since 1980. He is currently film curator at the Instituto Moreira Salles. He has written six books on film theory, among them Glauber Rocha (2002) and A ponte clandestina: Birri, Glauber, Solanas, Garcia Espinosa, Sanjines, Alea: teorias de cinema na America Latina (1995). His essays also appear in Le Cinéma brésilien (Center Pompidou, Paris, 1987) and Hojas de Cine (Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico, 1988).