É Rocha e Rio, Negro Leo (2020)

Intimately shot in his home, and emerging somewhere between artist portrait and testimony, Riverrock is a conversation with the musician, poet, sociologist and thinker Negro Leo. He articulates his ideas about the development of music, Brazilian and international politics, the ascension of neo-Pentecostal religions and his obsession with social media, all while making parallels with his own life and work. This film focuses not only on his ideas but on their evolution. Gaitán’s formal approach mirrors the shape of an improvised musical performance. Consisting of varying, shifting tones, and inflected with different rhythms, the film moves fluidly, allowing us to follow the multiple connections Leo makes between very different topics. Riverrock is the latest in an extensive series of film portraits by Gaitán, which includes musician and performer Arto Lindsay, composer Eliane Radigue and filmmaker Agnès Varda.