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18-year-old Mateus (Christian Malheiros) hopes to provide a better life for his working-class family in the countryside. Accepting a new job in São Paolo, he is shuttled into the city with a handful of other teenage boys from his town, unaware of what awaits them: exhausting work in a scrapyard and their identity cards seized by a vicious taskmaster and exploiter, Luca (Rodrigo Santoro), who threatens them with the unthinkable if they try to escape.
But, as Mateus learns, even the boss has a boss. And if he wants to find a way out, what will he have to become?
Torn from the dark side of today’s economic desperation, 7 Prisoners is a tense thriller, one that deepens into a masterful study of power, solidarity and betrayal. Produced by the Oscar-nominated filmmakers Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), the film is the second feature from writer-director Alexandre Moratto (Sócrates), who confirms his status as a major new voice of Brazilian cinema.
Mateus (Christian Malheiros), de 18 años de edad, sueña con ofrecer una vida mejor a su familia de clase obrera que vive en una zona rural. Acepta un nuevo trabajo en São Paulo adonde lo llevan con otros adolescentes de su pueblo, sin saber lo que les espera: un trabajo agobiante en un centro de desguace, y la incautación de sus documentos de identidad por Luca (Rodrigo Santoro), un capataz malvado y explotador que los amenaza con lo impensable si tratan de escaparse.
Pero, Lucas se da cuenta que incluso el capataz tiene un patrón. Y si él quiere encontrar una forma de salir de esa situación, ¿en qué se debe convertir?
Explorando el lado oscuro de la desesperación económica cotidiana, 7 Prisioneros es una película sobre ell poder, la solidaridad y la traición. Fue producida por los cineastas Fernando Meirelles (City of God) y Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), ambos nominados para el Oscar, y es la segunda peícula del director y guionista Alexandre Moratto (Sócrates), que confirma su posición como uno de los talentos jóvenes más importante en el cine brasilero.
Director Biography
Alexandre Moratto is a Brazilian-American filmmaker known for making personal films that give urgent topics and unheard voices an international stage. Born in 1988 to a Brazilian mother and an American father, he was raised by his mother in a single-parent household where Portuguese was the primary language. Growing up gay in an immigrant home fueled his need for self-expression and led him to study filmmaking at the UNC School of the Arts where he was awarded a full scholarship. His thesis film won Best Latinx Student Filmmaker from the Director’s Guild of America and led to a job as the assistant to filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) who became his mentor and inspired him to explore his Brazilian heritage. He returned to Brazil and partnered with Unicef to make his debut feature film Socrates with a cast and crew of teenagers from São Paulo’s favelas who co-wrote and co-produced the film with him, along with producer Ramin Bahrani and executive producer Fernando Meirelles (City of God). It was met with international critical acclaim and won the Someone To Watch Independent Spirit Award. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Film Independent Fellow, an SFFILM Rainin Fellow, a Gotham Fellow, and a Cine Qua Non Lab Fellow.