João Silvério Trevisan
Encyclopedia
João Silvério Trevisan is Brazilian author, playwright
, journalist
, screenwriter
and film director
. In his much-diversified oeuvres, he has published eleven books, among them great works of fiction, essays, short stories, and screenplays. Trevisan has been influential as a literary and cultural critic, particularly on gay
and lesbian
issues and his works have been translated into English
, Spanish
, and German
.
and in the United States
, where he had direct contact with the gay rights movement. Not surprisingly, in 1978, he founded, SOMOS, the first gay rights organization in Brazil and, in the same year, the first gay news publication, O Lampião da Esquina
. In 1982, he started research for his book, Devassos no Paraiso (Perverts in Paradise), which became at the time the most comprehensive study of the history of homosexuality in Brazil.
Journalism
Literature
Screenplay (adaptations)
Theater
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. In his much-diversified oeuvres, he has published eleven books, among them great works of fiction, essays, short stories, and screenplays. Trevisan has been influential as a literary and cultural critic, particularly on gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
issues and his works have been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Career
Early in his career in 1970, Trevisan wrote and directed a feature film,Orgia ou o Homem que Deu Cria, which was censured by the Brazilian military regime for almost ten years. In 1976, however, Trevisan wrote his first book, Testamento de Jônatas Deixado a Davi, and in 1983, Em Nome do Desejo. He subsequently emerged as one of Brazil's more important literary figures due to the enormous quantity and quality of work produced over the course of his career on a variety of topics.Literary prizes
Trevisan's best-known literary work, Two Bodies in Vertigoo is part of the anthology The 100 Best Brazilian Story Tales of the Twentieth Century. He has been honored three times with Premix Jabuti, which is the most prestigious Brazilian literary award and three times with the Association of Art Critics of São Paulo (APCA) Award, as well as several other honors. Yet, despite the numerous awards and distinctions, his work has been ignored by the Brazilian mainstream media.Gay activism
Between 1973 to 1976, Trevisan lived in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he had direct contact with the gay rights movement. Not surprisingly, in 1978, he founded, SOMOS, the first gay rights organization in Brazil and, in the same year, the first gay news publication, O Lampião da Esquina
O Lampião da Esquina
O Lampião da Esquina was one of the first publications specifically reaching out to a homosexual readership in Brazil. O Lampião da Esquina started being published in 1978 and was extinguished by 1981. While it was a historically pioneering enterprise, it is also remarkable in that is came to life...
. In 1982, he started research for his book, Devassos no Paraiso (Perverts in Paradise), which became at the time the most comprehensive study of the history of homosexuality in Brazil.
Body of work
Film, as screenplay writer- Contestação (short film, 1969)
- Orgia ou o homem que deu cria (feature lengthFeature lengthFeature length is motion picture terminology referring to the length of a feature film. According to the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a feature length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes to be eligible for an Academy Award.The term may also...
, 1971) - Amigo Secreto (The Secret FriendThe Secret FriendThe Secret Friend is a 2010 comedy-drama film based on the 1997 short story of the same name by Brazilian writer João Silvério Trevisan. The film, directed by Flavio Alves, features Viola Harris and Siobhan Fallon in the major roles...
, 2010)
Journalism
- O Lampião da EsquinaO Lampião da EsquinaO Lampião da Esquina was one of the first publications specifically reaching out to a homosexual readership in Brazil. O Lampião da Esquina started being published in 1978 and was extinguished by 1981. While it was a historically pioneering enterprise, it is also remarkable in that is came to life...
Literature
- Testamento de Jônatas Deixado a David (1976)
- As Incríveis Aventuras de El Cóndor (1980)
- Em Nome do Desejo (1983)
- Vagas Notícias de Melinha Marchiotti (1984)
- Devassos no Paraíso; also in English: Perverts in Paradise (1986)
- O Livro do Avesso (1992)
- Ana em Veneza; also Ana in Venice (1994)
- Troços & Destroços (1997)
- Seis Balas num Buraco Só: A Crise do Masculino (1998)
- Pedaço de Mim (2002)
- O Rei do Cheiro (2010)
Screenplay (adaptations)
- Doramundo by Geraldo Ferraz, directed by João Batista de Andrade (first treatment, 1977) - best film, scenographyScenography-Usage:Whilst also aligned with the professional practice of the scenographer, it is important to distinguish the individual elements that comprise the 'design' of a performance event from the term 'scenography' which is as an artistic perspective concerning the visual, experiential and spatial...
and director, Festival de GramadoFestival de GramadoThe Gramado Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. Since 1992 it also gives awards to Latin American films produced outside Brazil...
, 1978 - A mulher que inventou o amor by Jean Garrett, (1981)
Theater
- Heliogábalo & Eu
- Em Nome do Desejo
- Troços & Destroços
See also
- Literature of BrazilLiterature of BrazilBrazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
- The Secret Friend official web site