The Martin E. Segal Theater Center presents
Benjamim de Oliveira's Open Paths
At the Segal Theatre Film and Performance Festival 2025
A film by
Catappum! Collective
Screening Information
This film will be screened in-person at The Segal Centre on Saturday May 17th and also be available to watch online on the festival website till June 8th 2025.
Please note there is limited seating available for in-person screenings at The Segal Centre, which are offered on a first-come first-serve basis. You may RSVP above to get a reminder about the Segal Film Festival in your inbox.
Country
Brazil
Language
documentary
Running Time
36:17
minutes
Year of Release
2024
About The Film
The Catappum Collective retraces the steps of Benjamim de Oliveira, revisiting the places where he lived, performed, and left his legacy. The journey began in Pará de Minas and Belo Horizonte—his hometown and starting point—where the group interviewed local artists, accessed historical documents, and delved into the memory of our Black clown’s presence.
In São Paulo, the collective visited the Museum of Circus Memory and explored key moments in Benjamim’s path to success. As the first clown to record a music album in Brazil, he made history in the capital through performances filled with chulas and lundus, playing a pioneering role in the evolution of Brazilian entertainment.
The journey continued to Rio de Janeiro, a historic site of Black resistance and home to the region known as Little Africa. It was there that Benjamim found support and cultural vitality during the formative years of his artistic rise.
About The Artist(s)
Group, Collective, or Production Resume
The Catappum Collective began its research in 2015. In 2019, they premiered their first show, also titled Catappum. Between 2019 and 2023, they performed in more than 50 neighborhoods across all five regions of São Paulo and its countryside, reaching nearly 10,000 people from various social classes and age groups.
From 2020 to 2022, the group took part in several in-person and online festivals, including the 2nd Festejo Raízes do Riso, the 2nd Saruê International Circus Festival, two editions of the Brincando no Parque Festival, the 3rd Dona Ruth Black Theater Festival of São Paulo, the 6th São Paulo International Circus Festival, and the Preta Leste Festival in Itaquera.
In 2022, they were awarded funding through the 6th Circus Promotion Program, during which they held 12 performances of Catappum for over 3,000 people. They also offered workshops on Black comic traditions, engaging both artists and audiences in discussions about laughter, comedic expression, and racism through conversation circles.
Also in 2022, the collective published an article titled “Black Popular Cultures in the Media” in Folha de São Paulo. That same year, they taught in the Humor course at SP Escola de Teatro, the institution where the collective’s founders were previously trained. Additionally, they participated in Brazil’s 1st Black Circus Research Symposium, contributing to the panel on Black Clowning, Circus, and Education.
In 2023, they performed at SESC Registro – SP with a double feature: the Catappum show and the storytelling piece Pulú, the Little Black Boy Who Jumped Far, which was also written by the collective. That same year, they inaugurated the noon programming slot at Grande Lona do Mundo do Circo in Parque da Juventude (formerly Carandiru), presenting Catappum.
Still in 2023, they were selected in the 42nd edition of the Theater Promotion Program for the City of São Paulo, which enabled them to create the group’s second show, Na Lona de Benjamim, a tribute to Benjamin de Oliveira, the great Black clown and circus artist of the early 20th century.
In 2024, the Catappum Collective received the Picadeiro Trophy from the State Government in the category of Best Clown Show for their work Catappum.