02/08/2024 - The film by Brazil's Marianna Brennand follows a girl confronting the oppressive system that controls her family and the women in their Amazon rainforest community

Island of Marajó, Amazon rainforest. Marcielle (Tielle), 13, lives by the riverbanks with her father, mother, and three siblings. Prompted by her mother’s words, she idolizes her older sister who supposedly escaped her reality by “finding a good man” on the barges that ply the region. As Tielle matures, her idealized visions shatter, leaving her trapped between two abusive environments. Increasingly worried about her younger sister and the bleak future they face, she decides to confront the oppressive system that controls her family and the women in their community.

This is the synopsis of Manas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marianna Brennand
film profile], the first fiction feature by Brazilian director Marianna Brennand, which is having its world premiere in the Giornate degli Autori at the Venice Film Festival, taking place from 28 August to 7 September.

The director explains, "“It was during a documentary research project in the remote villages of the Amazon rainforest that I met women who had endured immense trauma since a tender age, suffering sexual abuse inside their homes while also being sexually exploited at commercial barges with hardly any chance to escape. Unfortunately, most of us women have a story of abuse, be it of a sexual, moral, or psychological nature, which has left deep scars and trauma. The #MeToo and other women’s rights movements have encouraged and enabled us to break the silence and expose abusers around the world. But what about these invisible women we do not even know exist? Through Manas, I want to give a voice to these women and girls who would never be heard otherwise, honoring the stories they shared with me. I see cinema as a compelling vehicle for social and political transformation and hope that Manas will be able to mobilize viewers’ empathy and break the enormous taboo surrounding this difficult reality that affects all of us women.”

Brennand's documentary Francisco Brennand, about her great-uncle Francisco, a Brazilian artist globally recognized for his ceramic work, premiered in 2012 and won both Best Brazilian Documentary and Best Brazilian Film at the São Paulo Film Festival. After having directed another documentary, O Coco, a Roda, o Pnêu e o Farol, Manas marks her feature film directorial debut and is the result of a ten-year research into the complex and delicate subject of the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and teenagers on Marajó Island, in the Amazon rainforest.

The film stars Jamilli Correa, Fátima Macedo, Rômulo Braga, Dira Paes, Emily Pantoja, Samira Eloá, Gabriel Rodrigues and Enzo Maia. is produced by Carolina Benevides and Marianna Brennand herself for Brazil's Inquietude, and co-produced by Luis Galvão Teles for Portugal's Fado Filmes and Beto Gauss and Francesco Civita for Pródigo, Globo Filmes and Canal Brasil, with the support of Ancine, FSA-BRDE and Portugal's ICA.

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