A World Heritage Site, the city of Ouro Preto will be the stage, from June 19th to 24th, for the 19th CineOP – Ouro Preto Film Festival. For six consecutive days, the public will have the opportunity to experience new content, discover new trends, watch films, enjoy artistic attractions, exchange experiences with important names in the cultural, audiovisual, preservation and education scene, in addition to participating in the program training and thematic debates free of charge.
The program will bring together various cultural events – in addition to cinema, visual arts, literature, dance, performing arts and heritage. Universo Produção, organizer of the event, hopes to attract around 20 thousand tourists to the historic city. The entire exhibition is structured around three thematic fronts: preservation, history and education, each with its own specificities and with the purpose of highlighting “Animated Cinema in Brazil” in tributes, films, debates and conversation circles.
Film screenings in national previews and retrospectives, tributes, debates, workshops, Cine-Escola sessions, cinema showcases, exhibitions, parades, musical shows and artistic attractions are part of the program. The 19th National Meeting of Brazilian Audiovisual Archives and Collections and the Education Meeting will also be held: XVI Kino Network Forum – Latin American Education, Cinema and Audiovisual Network, which will occupy Tiradentes square and at the Arts and Convention Center.
Cineop will also reaffirm its commitment to promoting actions that directly benefit the communities of Ouro Preto, such as the Cine-expressão program – The school goes to the cinema, with cine-school sessions, cine-debates and workshops to meet the demand of more than 2,000 students and educators in the public education network. The complete program has not yet been completely finalized, but, according to Universo Produção, it will be released soon and can be consulted on the official website of the Cineop.
Heritage city
In 2024, Ouro Preto turns 313 years old on July 8th. At the time of gold extraction, the city was one of the most populous in Latin America. In 1938, it was listed by the National Historical Heritage Institute (Iphan) and in 1980 it was the first Brazilian city listed by Unesco as a Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Its baroque architecture can be appreciated in the streets, in colonial houses, in churches and museums, the ideal environment for the development of the arts.
The starting point for tourists to explore the city is Tiradentes square. From there, you can visit the churches of São Francisco de Assis, Nossa Senhora do Pilar, Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Antônio Dias, Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos and Santa Efigênia. Some of these baroque masterpieces charge a visiting fee of between R$3 and R$10. Not all of them are open all day, so you’ll need to check opening hours.
In addition to the churches, visitors should visit the Inconfidência, Aleijadinho, Oratory and Sacred Art museums. The newest space, the Boulieu Museum, opened in 2022 and displays the collection of more than a thousand sacred pieces donated by the French-Brazilian couple Maria Helena and Jacques Boulieu. In December 2023, the Opera House, the oldest theater in Latin America, opened in 1770 and with a wooden structure, was reopened after being restored, preserving its original characteristics.
Gold exploration in the 18th and 19th centuries also left behind disused mines for metals and precious stones, such as Chico Rei, Jejê, Du Veloso and Santa Rita, all with guided tours that narrate the history of mining. The most famous, Mina da Passagem, on the way to Mariana, differs from the others because it is the only industrial site open to visitors. Tourists can go down in a wooden cart on the tracks, crossing tunnels.
Service
What:19th Cineop – Ouro Preto Cinema Exhibition
When: 19 to 24/6 | In-person and Online
Information: access Cineop
