Some cities are remembered for their monuments, while others impose themselves through the stories they generate. Recife belongs to the second category. In the work of director Kleber Mendonça Filho, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco is neither a backdrop nor a recognizable postcard: it is a space traversed by time, politics, and everyday life. Walking its streets is therefore like traversing a cinematic landscape, where each place preserves traces of stories told from a human perspective.
It is precisely this intimate relationship between city and cinema that forms the basis of the “A Cidade no Cinema de Kleber Mendonça Filho” route. Supported by Embratur, this urban itinerary invites visitors to discover Recife through the real locations that served as settings for the director’s main films, turning cinema into a tool to read the urban space.
When the City Becomes a Story
The route crosses downtown through nine emblematic locations from the director’s filmography, from Recife Frio (2009) to O Agente Secreto (2025). Parks, bridges, historic cinemas, modernist buildings, and old restaurants are not presented as isolated points of interest, but as fragments of a constantly transforming urban fabric. Together, they create a sensitive map of Recife, marked by social changes, political tensions, and the memory of places.
Everyday spaces, such as Parque 13 de Maio or Ponte da Boa Vista, interact with the remnants of the cinemas de rua circuit: Cine Veneza, Cinema São Luiz, Art-Palácio, Trianon, and Cinema Moderno, now closed. Active cultural venues, such as Teatro do Parque or Restaurante Leite, maintain a direct link between contemporary cultural life and the city’s past.
A Technology-Guided Experience
Here, technology mediates rather than dictates. The route follows no imposed order or traditional guided-tour format. It is accessible through Roteo, a Brazilian app dedicated to self-guided cultural itineraries, available on Android and iOS. Audiovisual content, explanatory commentary, and augmented reality features allow visitors to reconstruct certain scenes directly at their filming locations, overlaying cinematic narrative with real urban experience.
From Brazil to the International Stage
In recent months, O Agente Secreto has helped increase the visibility of Brazilian cinema internationally. The film, centered on an ordinary man caught in a web of surveillance and political tension in Recife, has been recognized during awards season, including the 2026 Golden Globes, and brought Wagner Moura notable acclaim for his performance. Beyond the awards, this critical reception highlights Brazilian cinema’s ability to convey stories deeply rooted in specific urban and social realities.
Audiovisual Tourism as a Cultural Strategy
This initiative is part of a broader strategy led by Embratur, which leverages cinema as a tool for international cultural projection. Through programs like Edital Brasil com S, the agency supports productions that highlight local territories and stories. In 2026, five short films focused on the Amazon joined a national and international circuit, with screenings at the Tiradentes Film Festival and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. These projects, combining funding, artistic support, and international distribution, reflect an approach in which audiovisual media becomes a means of exploring the country’s identities, memories, and territorial dynamics.
In Recife, as in other regions of Brazil, cinema does more than show landscapes: it provides a framework that enriches the experience of places. In this sense, the route dedicated to Kleber Mendonça Filho’s work reminds us that a journey can begin with a story on screen before continuing, step by step, through the streets of the city.
Photos: Víctor Juca | Walli Fontenele
