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The Miracle of Candeal (El milagro de Candeal)

Fernando Trueba
Spain / 2005 / 125 min / Spanish with English subtitles

Candeal is a marginal area in the heart of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and home of Grammy award winning musician Carlinhos Brown. The film is a stunning parable of how a notorious slum transformed itself into a model community through the power of music, pushed along by Brown’s commitment to the local youth.In this story shows how solidarity and thestruggle of a small group of people can change and improve the lives of an entire community. Candeal, music, Carlinhos Brown, Bebo Valdés are the four pillars on which rests the film.To better understand the spirit of the film, the beginning of the transformation of Candeal, might have to go back some years ago.

Fernando Trueba was  first a cinema critic for the newspaper 'El País', and also founded the journal "Casablanca". At the movies his first success was Opera Prima (1980) following the style of the "comedia madrileña". He had major success with Se infiel y no mires con quien (1985). In 1994 he recieved Oscar for Best Foreign Film with Belle Epoque (1992). After Oscar succes  in 1995 he surprised everyone with a Hollywood Comedy Two Much. He is well known as a music lover and he produced and directed some of most mesmerizing documentaries about Latin Jazz  as Calle 54. With The miracle of Candeal won the Goya for Best Documentary. In 2010, collaborating with Barcelona based graphic artist Javier Mariscal won with Chico and Rita the Goya for Best Feature Animation. In 2010, after Collaborating with graphic artist Javier Mariscal  (known by his work in Barcelona Olympics of 92)