Fellipe Barbosa

The third episode of the Cities of Love franchise, Rio, I Love You is an anthology, created by 10 visionary directors from across the globe. The story line of each segment focuses on an encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city, demonstrating the distinctive qualities and character of that location. The film serves to bridge gaps between cultures, educating and entertaining the audience, while celebrating unique and universal expressions of love.

LA MANUELA is a movie about exile and self-reinvention. In august 2015, Manuela Lavinas Picq, a french-brazilian journalist and university professor, was arrested at a demonstration in Quito, Ecuador. That same night, her work visa was revoked and she was taken into custody. Manuela was forced to leave Ecuador, where she had lived for the last decade, losing her home, work and lover. This film tells the trajectory of an activist who defends the causes of indigenous peoples with a lot of identity.

January 1st, 2003. When Brazil celebrates President Lula′s historic investiture, two middle-class, provincial families gather in an old, poorly maintained house. As they prepare a big party, secrets, hidden desires and frustrations are revealed.

Ana is a rising lawyer who is going deaf. After losing her hearing, she begins to see and hear this new world of which she is a part, previously invisible. Through this new sense of hearing, Ana transforms herself and rediscovers her purpose.

In Bocaina, Minas Gerais, two sisters live peacefully and in isolation until the arrival of an outsider to the region. The plot follows in the footsteps of Zulma (Malu Gali), Musk (Ana Flavia) and Josevelt (Alejandro Claveaux). Josevelt is the mysterious fellow who, along with these two conflict-filled women, helps them free themselves from their restraints. Under the context of a pandemic, the narrative addresses the feeling of suspension and uncertainty, so present today.

After her grandmother’s death, Nina leaves Rio for a small town in southern Brazil in search of a fresh start. There, she meets Pedro and goes through experiences that transform her perspective on love, friendship and the future.

One day and one night, in a rustic country house rented by Luciana and Marcelo, who—despite having been together for eight years—have never been openly serious about their relationship. Their neighbors and friends, Cláudio and Fabiana, are seemingly happy. But it only takes getting to know them better to realize they have a very toxic relationship. Paula, Marcelo’s friend since his teens, soon understands she is entering a minefield. She decides to have a fun weekend despite the conflicts she might spark.

Laura, a sexy Brazilian immigrant, has been living in New York for 25 years. She is a regular at NY nightclubs and frequents the most exclusive parties and upscale restaurants. However, she lives in a modest boarding house in Manhattan, where she shares a bathroom with other guests who are largely illegal immigrants. The film questions the meaning of success, examines the fear of returning home, the unconscious pressure of the family she abandoned in Curitiba, and the deliberate creation of a fantasy as a means of protection.

Boys On Film 5: Candy Boy features nine award-winning short films. Boys will be boys in Pascal-Alex Vincent's FAR WEST and CANDY BOY, where a farmyard and an orphanage get a gay makeover. GO-GO REJECT sees Flashdance obsessive Daniel aim for the stars, as SWEAT has Holby City's David Paisley infiltrating a bath house with unexpected results. Meanwhile, love proves to be timeless when LAST CALL unites past and present, but TWOYOUNGMEN, UT. hints at an uncertain future. Looking back on the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, BLOCKS focuses on the sexual awakening of a peeping Tom. Two more young boys, a confused JAMES and mute DAVID, both reach out for an experienced hand, but will they find what they are looking for?

Paulo (Pedro Brício), a publicist of Rio de Janeiro, moves to Brasília (capital of Brazil) to be the manager of the public image of a senator who wants reelection. Paulo is accompanied by his wife, Cris (Cintia Rosa), a journalist with whom he has a small daughter. But their relationship is not moved by love, they are only together for the girl, the result of an unwanted pregnancy.

When the Netuno Circus returns to Fernando de Noronha, it brings back a young man with a turbulent past. Pedro is now Zolah, the human cannonball. When secrets surface, bizarre family reunions rival the circus performances.

Will and Eli meet by chance in a bar and head to the salt flats searching for a party. In the process, however, they take the first steps towards finding and accepting themselves.

As a privileged teenager living in an affluent suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Jean has little to worry about beyond games, grades and girls. But as his overbearing father drags the family into debt, Jean is forced into a change of lifestyle which opens his eyes to the world beyond his 'casa grande' - not least that of the feisty, mixed-race firecracker Luiza. Cultures, classes and generations collide in this engrossing coming-of-age drama from Brazil.

Before entering a prestigious American university, Gabriel Buchmann decides to travel the world for one year. After ten months on the road with his backpack full of dreams, immersed at the heart of various countries, he arrives in Kenya determined to discover the African continent. Until he reaches the top of Mount Mulanje, Malawi, his final destination.

A confirmed bachelor tries to persuade his recently engaged friend back to his old carefree life.

Maggie and her sister form an unusual bond during an encounter with a young man.

A small-scale romantic love story, shot with a digital camera in black & white and in a documentary style. We follow the conversation between two lovers, each on a different side of the world; he is in Recife, she is in Kyiv. On one side is dark, on the other light, but both experience the same emotions and hence feel nearness and contact.

Two moments in the life of Pedro. First in 1997, he lives with his family in Rio de Janeiro and works at Gás do Brasil, a company that is undergoing a tough restructuring process, with layoffs and early retirements. Soon, privatization will come. In the second moment, two years later, Pedro lives retired in his hometown Barbosa, in the company of his childhood memories, his dog and his girlfriend. By interweaving these two moments in time, we put ourselves in Pedro's skin and experience his fears and delights.

With no money and a sick young son, Angel returns to the underworld of fashion and luxury. Giovanna believes that Angel killed her father and will do anything to put her in jail. As a result, they start a personal war, which involves Cristiano, a private investigator.

Maíra was raised by her father believing that her mother had died. This was a lie her father told her in order to protect her from the scorn of her mother, who rejected her when she learned that her daughter was born with a disability. Many years later, Maíra comes across a stranger on their doorstep. That’s Zoé, her mother. Without revealing her true intentions, Zoe reappears asking her daughter’s forgiveness for having abandoned her. As in a dream that turns into a nightmare, Maíra experiences the strongest emotions of her life and what would be a happy fresh start for Maíra with her family turns into a long and dangerous journey.

Lurdes is a mother of five who tirelessly seeks for Domenico, a child of hers who was sold by his own father 26 years ago; Thelma is an overprotective mother who finds out she has a terminal illness, and must race against time to make her dreams come true and prepare her son for a life without her presence; Vitória is a successful lawyer who sees the end of her marriage after countless failed attempts to have a baby and decides for adoption, but finds out she is pregnant during the process. In "A Mother's Love", the lives of these women are intertwined while they recognize themselves in the unconditional love provided by motherhood.