Private Project

Little Othello

"Little Otelo" tells the almost forgotten story of rise of iconic Brazilian actor Grande Otelo, the FIRST Major Black star in film history, a complete artist who worked with names like Orson Welles, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Werner Herzog, Hector Babenco, and Carmen Miranda.

An incredible journey that transformed little Tião, who begged his mother to be given to a traveling theater company at age 6 (and had his wish granted), into one of the most brilliant and famous Brazilian actors of all time.

Despite having helped inaugurate an era of professional film production on an industrial scale in Brazil, Otelo suffered a long process of erasure of this achievement of enormous cultural, social, and historical weight.

An unretouched portrait of a brilliant artist and the treatment he received because of his skin color. A story of immense love for art and cinema.

  • BETO SPORKENS
    Director
    Spark (2022)
  • BETO SPORKENS
    Writer
    Spark (2022)
  • BETO SPORKENS
    Producer
    Spark (2022)
  • Adelino Benedito
    Key Cast
    "Grande Otelo"
  • Isaque Ferreira dos Santos
    Key Cast
    "Tião"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Por Onde Andou Moleque Tião
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 34 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (DSLR)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - BETO SPORKENS

Graduated in Film and Video from FAAP, he began his career making short films and award-winning documentaries. He is a Screenwriter, Executive Producer and Director of Audiovisual Content and Storytelling projects.

Beto is also specialized in issues related to ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL causes, having been responsible for numerous strategic communication projects for Brazilian and foreign NGOs, such as projects for political transparency (Transparência Brasil), Human Rights (OAB-Prêmio Franz de Castro ), Amazon (IPAM Amazônia) and WWF Species Conservation in different parts of the world.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

A good documentary is one where you know how it starts, but you don't know how it ends.