Saudades Eternas

synopsis

The lives of ordinary people in the Chapéu Mangueira neighbourhood of Rio are affected by the long-standing havoc raised by drug gangs. This observational documentary takes us into one of the local households struggling to survive in a neighbourhood where gunshots are a frequent occurrence and where the police, with their brutal tactics, only serve to escalate the situation. In the film, the title of which is a phrase of condolence in Portuguese meaning “He will remain in our hearts forever”, the director interacts directly with her subjects and films them with a handheld camera in everyday situations. In doing so, she highlights the extent to which the constant sense of threat has become an inescapable part of their existence.

“It was in 2015, quite by chance, during my first trip to Brazil, that I discovered Chapéu Mangueira. I got lost in the narrow streets and met Sueli, who was hosting a barbecue, and I immediately felt a connection with him. Intrigued and moved, and despite the obvious violence, I decided to move to Chapéu Mangueira.” — Emma Boccanfuso, Business Doc Europe

Source

biography

Emma Boccanfuso (1992) lives and works in Paris and Brazil. Her projects often focus on the Chapéu Mangueira neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. For example, she dedicated the short documentary Café, Verre D’Eau (2020) to this neighbourhood, which she co-directed with Fanny Didelon. Saudades Eternas is her feature-length debut.

film details

director:	Emma Boccanfuso
producer:	Flavia Zanon, Anne-Catherine Witt
script:	Emma Boccanfuso, Quentin Faucheux-Thurion
photography:	Emma Boccanfuso
editing:	Clara Chapus
sound:	Emma Boccanfuso

contact

Claire Jousson / Close Up Films
claire@closeupfilms.ch