Suzana Amaral transposes Clarice Lispector’s novel in one of the most accomplished adaptations in Brazilian cinema, with a revelatory Marcélia Cartaxo as Macabéa. The film knows how to find beauty and tragedy in the invisibility of an unforgettable character.
THE HOUR OF THE STAR | 1985 Read More »
João Londres discusses “Klaustrophobia” (2025), a psychological horror that premiered at the Rio Film Festival. The director recounts how the project was born during the pandemic and transformed in editing, details the opening sequence shot, and shares Brazilian film recommendations.
INTERVIEW: JOÃO LONDRES (KLAUSTROPHOBIA, 2025) Read More »
Leonardo Feliciano shares the behind-the-scenes of “Araby’s” cinematography, revealing how he built the film’s visual language over three years of discontinuous shooting. Cinematographer of “White Out, Black In” and “Mars One”, he balanced naturalism and detachment to tell Cristiano’s story.
ARABY (2017): INTERVIEW WITH CINEMATOGRAPHER LEONARDO FELICIANO Read More »
Daniel Rezende sensitively adapts Valter Hugo Mãe’s novel, creating “humble epic” about coastal village. Rodrigo Santoro brings compassion to Crisóstomo, solitary fisherman who maintains humanity amid cycles of violence.
THE SON OF A THOUSAND MEN | 2025 Read More »
Tropical Alien talked with director Marco Dutra about “Bury Your Dead” (2024), an adaptation of the first book in Ana Paula Maia’s trilogy. The film follows Edgar (Selton Mello), responsible for removing roadkill carcasses in Abalurdes, a fictional small town. In the interview, Dutra discusses writing about death during the pandemic and how Ana Paula Maia’s literary universe provided the foundation for creating a Brazilian language of cosmic horror. The director details Selton Mello’s physical performance as Edgar and his collaboration with Ana Paula Cardoso on production design and Rui Poças on cinematography.
INTERVIEW: MARCO DUTRA (BURY YOUR DEAD, 2024) Read More »
Kleber Mendonça Filho creates singular approach to Brazilian dictatorship with very strong visual language. Wagner Moura delivers perhaps his best work in film exploring how physical media preserves stories.
THE SECRET AGENT | 2025 Read More »
At 70 minutes long, Aurora 15 is a quick and peculiar horror experience with a surprisingly committed cast. Marjorie Estiano stands out with a memorable performance in this cult gem.
Maurílio Martins discusses “O Último Episódio”, a film set in 1991 on the outskirts of Contagem born from personal memories of Laguna neighborhood. The director talks about narrative layers, adult conflicts and the attempt to capture the impossible moment of childhood farewell.
INTERVIEW: MAURÍLIO MARTINS (O ÚLTIMO EPISÓDIO, 2024) Read More »
Ana Petta documents the threat to a small village in São Paulo through the perspective of her children Maria and Pedro. With an intimate gaze, Amora defends ways of life based on calm and harmony, creating a counterpoint between real estate speculation and the dispossession of external environments and inner worlds amid urban verticalization.
Gustavo Castro follows the Latiff family, made up of Palestinians and Brazilians, to create a pluralized portrait of the Palestinian people. The documentary builds an informative timeline of the conflicts with Israel and reaches a relevant conclusion about how the most video-recorded genocide in history can be questioned amid the ocean of information on social media.
NOTES ON A EXILE | 2025 Read More »
