(Brazil/2011/directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho)

An exciting discovery from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds  peers into the lives of a group of middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, Brazil. It’s a seaside area – consisting of one single city block, actually – unofficially ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons, and located not far from a low-income neighborhood. A private security firm is hired to police the street after some petty thefts, but the firm’s presence soon becomes the catalyst that unleashes the neighbors’ anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to past and present inequities. Ingeniously designed with unexpected and tense widescreen visuals, this is truly compulsive viewing; you’re never quite sure where things are headed, even as the film builds imperceptibly toward its knockout payoff. With unmistakable formal power and an acute eye and ear for modern life, Neighboring Sounds signals the arrival of a major filmmaker. San Francisco, Rotterdam, and New Directors (New York) Film Festivals. In Portuguese with English subtitles.  (131 min.)

“Stunning.” –Melissa Anderson, The Village Voice

“A thrilling discovery.” –Gavin Smith, Film Comment

“A superb, skillful, remarkable vision. Filho is an exceptionally talented director.” –Jay Weissberg, Variety

“A thoroughly modern, film-savvy opus, steeped equally in dread and humor.” –Dennis Lim, Artforum