Four years after a military coup overthrew the Brazilian government in 1964, all civil rights were suspended and torture became a systematic practice. Using a mix of fiction and documentary this extraordinary film is a searing record of personal memory, political repression and the will to survive. Interviews with eight women who were political prisoners during the military dictatorship are framed by the fantasies and imaginings of an anonymous character, portrayed by actress Irene Ravache.
Filmmaker Murat, like the interviewees, was herself tortured and imprisoned; her award-winning film shatters the silence imposed on the survivors and the collective will to forget.
Press comments
"An extraordinary film .... Eight political prisoners, all women articulate the price of surviving an experience that even their friends, husbands and children wish to cushion in silence." Judy Block, Pacific film Archives
"Remarkably revealing... made with determination to break the rigid curtain of silence." Judy Stone, SF Chronicle
"A fundamental film. A clear, exciting and true reflection about a universal theme: the fight for life in authoritarian regime." JORNAL DO BRASIL
"Touching, clear and serene. A film that work with facts, memories and know how to do it in the direction of the future. Indispensable." JORNAL DA TARDE
"In the same way than Marcel Ophuls and Claude Lanzmann, Lucia Murat did more than a historical documentary that dare to immerse in a tabu theme. She did one of the most humanistic work that I saw in the last times." FOLHA DE S. PAULO
Awards
Brasília Festival (1989): The best film (official jury); The best film (popular jury); The best film (critical premium); The best actress; The best montage
Festival de La Habana (1989): Prêmio Coral; Prêmio Caracol (Associação de Artistas); The best film (OCIC)
Festival Internacional/Rio (1989): Special prize of the jury; Mention – OCIC; Mention – International critical; Prêmio Samburá
Others: Mention – CNBB; The best actress – Prêmio Air France; The best actress – Ass. Criticos / SP;
1990: The best actress – Prêmio Moliere; The best actress – Golden Metais; The best film and actress – Rio-Cine Festival
Internacional Festivals
Festival of Festivals (Toronto, 1989)
Festival de Mujeres (Buenos Aires, 1990)
San Francisco Film Festival (USA, 1990)
Muestra Internacional del Nuevo Cine (Pesaro, Italy, 1990)
Manheim Festival (Alemnha, 1990) Human Rights Festval ( NY, EUA, 1991)
Yamagata Film Festival (Japan, 1991)
Cast
Irene Ravache
Credits
Script, direction and executive production: Lucia Murat
Editing: Vera Freire
Photography: Walter Carvalho
Sound: Heron Alencar
Art director and Director-assistent: Adolfo Orico Rosenthal
Production direction: Kátia Cop e Maria Helena Nascimento
Set decoration and costumes: Beatriz Salgado
Original music: Fernando Moura
Sound: Aécio Flávio
Production: Taiga Filmes e Video
Internacional Distributor for the EUA: Woman Make Movies