The Extraordinary Life of Vera Valdez

Susana Barriga’s documentary, the illusion, begins with violence. A long shot reveals a man standing on a street corner, his features indiscernible in the night. He moves out of the camera’s line of vision, but the filmmaker, persistent, moves with him as the jostling of the camera marks her steps. As we learn moments later, the man in the distance is Susana’s father – and this is the clearest image of him we will have. Suddenly, an angry British man demands that Susana cease filming. Susana protests in heavily accented English, “He is my father!” Glimpses of a man’s torso are followed by blurred images as the camera spins rapidly over surfaces. The image cuts to black. A new male voice asks in carefully spaced out words if Susana would like him to call the police. When she doesn’t respond immediately, he speaks louder, as though volume would compensate for the language difference. She gives her name; she refuses the offer of an ambulance.

Aunt Virginia is a 70-year-old woman who has no children and has never been married, and ends up being convinced by her sisters, Vanda and Valquíria, to move to another city in order to take care of her parents. Taking place in just one day, the film follows Virginia's preparation to receive the sisters who are coming to her house to celebrate Christmas.

Sérgio is determined to take over his family's construction company to pursue a long-buried dream. But when he uncovers a hidden chapter from his father's past, his ambitions are shaken, forcing him to confront the man he has truly become.

In the shimmering heat of Brazil, 13-year-old Irene discovers a dark secret her father's been hiding: he has another family and even another daughter with the same name.

The story of Helena, a recently graduated attorney who works as a public defender of children and adolescents in the courts of the city of Santos, Brazil, and her brother, the teenager Caio, who will commit a serious crime. De Menor participated in Films in Progress at last year's San Sebastian Festival.

The doorbell at the bridal shop rings.

Ruy, a solitary surveyor, travels the harsh Pernambuco. His life is transformed when he meets three women from a mambembe circus, Madrinha, Jéssica and Diadorim. Through the history of these four characters, "Mambembe" deals with chance while reflecting on artistic construction.

The story of the volleyball semi-final game at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics between Brazil and Cuba. Players from both countries review the match and comment on the emotions and events that occurred.

“The Discreet Charm of a Champion” portrays one of the quietest athletes in Brazilian sport. Record holder in participations in Olympics, five in total, the lifter Fofão, about to complete 30 years of career, brings with it a trajectory of patience. He waited more than a decade on the bench to become the biggest winner in Brazilian volleyball. Through it, it is possible to portray 30 years of the sport in the country and characteristics inherent to great athletes: humility and perseverance.

A tailor's son ran away to become a juggler. A retired magician sees his troupe's downfall. A former aerialist will become a grandmother for the first time. Fire, knives, applause. At the circus, they saw the world.