Director: Ricardo Van Steen
Producers: Marcelo Torres, René Bittencourt, Paulo Dantas
Editor: Umberto Martins
Music Producer: Arto Lindsay
Screenplay: Pedro Vicente
Cinematographer: Paulo Vainer
Cast: Rafael Raposo, Camila Pitanga, Jonathan Haagensen, Flavio Bauraqui, Rui Resende

At 17, Noel is a funny guy who likes to taunt his friends with samba improvisations. A middle-class white guy, he prefers the company of poor blacks, factory girls and hookers. Challenged by these friends to compose sambas, he writes “Com que Roupa?” a parody of the Brazilian anthem that becomes an instant success. From then on, Noel flies through the golden age of radio like a comet, changing the direction of Brazilian popular music.

 

Aos 17 anos, Noel é um sujeito engraçado, com um defeito no queixo que gosta de provocar seus amigos com sambas improvisados. Um branco de classe média, ele prefere a companhia dos negros do outro lado da linha do trem, trabalhadoras de fabrica e prostitutas. Desafiado por seus amigos a compor sambas, ele escreve “Com que Roupa?” baseado na melodia do hino nacional, um sucesso instantâneo. A partir daí, ele voa pela época de ouro do radio como um cometa, mudando a direção da musica popular brasileira.

Ricardo Van Steen directed more than 500 TV commercials. His first short movie, Com Que Roupa?, also about Noel Rosa, won the Best Photography award at Brazil’s Gramado Festival in 1997. Van Steen directed two other feature-length documentaries: Um Cigarro, Mil Historias and Tinta Fresca. Noel: The Samba Poet is his debut feature film and won the 2008 ABC Cinematography Award for Best Art Direction.