The energy of a rapidly growing Brazil is depicted in eight movies that will be shown at a Brazilian film festival touring the country.

The eighth Festival Cinema Brasil, which started in 2005, includes a variety of genres such as comedy, action and documentary.

In the comedy "O Palhaco" ("The Clown"), main character Benjamin is a clown who leads a circus troupe. The troupe travels from town to town making people laugh, but Benjamin begins to wonder who can make his troupe laugh. The film, directed by Selton Mello, has been selected to represent Brazil in a contest to be nominated in the foreign-language film category at next year's Oscars.

Another acclaimed movie in the festival is a documentary titled "Elis Regina: MPB Special — 1973 — Program Ensaio." The movie features Elis Regina (1945-1982), a talented and outspoken singer of Brazilian pop music (known locally as MPB), and includes some MPB standards sung by Regina in a TV program.

Five of the eight movies in the festival will feature English subtitles.