North American Premiere
Like so many other youths trapped in the grinding poverty of rural Brazil, in a town so remote its very existence has become a national punchline, Rivelino (Gabriel Knoxx) is simply trying to make the best of a bad situation and limited options. Creating UFO-themed art for local pusher and metaphysics freak Ale (Chico Diaz), courting beautiful, ambitious single mother Sandra (Gleici Damasceno), and gathering with his friends for impromptu slam poetry battles, all while cleaning up the messes left by his party-mode mother Beatriz (Joana Gatis), Riva has always done his best to steer clear of the gang culture that has taken over their once-peaceful Amazonian town. But as his options dwindle and he watches his peers get swallowed up by the snake of addiction, Riva finds that the only real option to better his lot is to join the local drug economy, leading to a cosmically charged outcome that’s at once expected and wholly surprising in this raw, gritty, and unexpectedly transcendent feature debut by writer/director Sergio de Carvalho, winner of the Best Supporting Actor (Chico Diaz), Critics’ Jury and Best Film awards at the 50th Gramado Film Festival.
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