famous artists and personalities such as writers such as gabriel garcía márquez, mario vargas llosa, ernesto sábato, jorge amado, and caio fernando abreu have taken center stage - all of whom have a strong connection to cinema.

with morning, afternoon, and evening sessions the festival is great for both children and adults - admission is free.         

november - world day of thanksgiving (dia mundial de ação de graças) has been celebrated in brazil since 1949 thanks to the then brazilian ambassador who while in the united states was so impressed with the holiday he decided to bring it back to brazil.

in the mid 1960s the last thursday of november was selected to coincide with the date celebrated in most other countries.