FAU & Latin American Training Center Inaugurate Partnership

Dear Ambassador


By polly burks | 1/9/2018

Florida Atlantic University and the Latin American Training Center present the U.S. premiere of the film “Dear Ambassador,” which tells the story of the Brazilian ambassador that saved hundreds of Jews in France during World War II. The film will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. in the University Theatre, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus, and is in Portuguese with English subtitles. Tickets to the film are $10 and can be purchased at www.fauevents.com or by calling 800-564-9539. The first 50 FAU students to present an ID at the Box Office in FAU’s Student Union will receive free tickets to the event.

“Dear Ambassador,” which was directed by Luiz Fernando Goulart and produced by Joaquim Vaz Carvalho, tells the extraordinary story of Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas, who served as Brazilian ambassador to Paris during World War II. A largely unsung hero, he defied his own government’s orders by granting hundreds of unauthorized visas to Jews and others facing imminent capture and death. Consisting of re-enactments, interviews with survivors, and archival footage, “Dear Ambassador” commemorates Brazil’s counterpart to Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, and like them, was awarded posthumously the title of “Righteous among the Nations” at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Goulart will introduce the film and also participate in a panel discussion with the audience following the screening.  

The screening of “Dear Ambassador” marks the inauguration of a year-long Brazilian film series as the first initiative of its new hemispheric partnership.  The monthly Brazilian cinema series comprises films of recognized cultural, artistic and social value, and representative of the five regions of Brazil. Support for the series is provided by the Brazil International Foundation, the Brazilian Film Commission Network, the Audiovisual Promotion Division of the Cultural Department of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry and the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami. LATC serves as curator of the film series project and direct liaison with film production companies in Brazil. The series is hosted by FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and the Graduate Certificate of Film and Culture.

The series is part of the long-term strategic relationship announced in 2017 by FAU and LATC to  jointly develop a wide range of academic, policy, resource, outreach and training activities in the area of Latin American film, television and new media. For more information about the Brazilian Film Series, visit fau.edu/artsandletters/college-initiatives/brazilian-film-series/.

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