Possible Embraces: Interdictions and Resistance in the Cinematic Exhibition of Peripheral Images

Abstract

In this article we reflect on experiences of image circulation, including in the film exhibition sector, during the pandemic by focusing on audiovisuals dedicated to hugs interrupted either by COVID-19 or by colonial historical erasures. Where and how were these “possible embraces” constructed, on the screen and among spectators, since the traditional cinema venues were closed? Inspired by the Samba de Roda movement in the Recôncavo Baiano, an artistic manifestation of the 17th century, we propose an “umbigada montage” as a methodology for the encounter between images that reveal the strengths and crises of film exhibition and its relationship with the audiovisual in a network that connects the works among themselves and with the spectators. Strengthened by the echoes of what they have in common, the “body-screens” transcend interruptions and binarities, even under colonial silencing, beyond the pandemic.