Jonas and the Backyard Circus

As if adolescence is not hard enough, a young, fatherless teenager living in a small town in the Brazilian heartland, confronts a degenerative eye disease that will ultimately leave him blind. As his vision deteriorates, he goes through the pain and confusion of his unreciprocated first love, and ultimately will have to learn first-hand how to see life with different eyes.

Amusement parks are known as spaces where the magic becomes real. In the film, however, the viewer knows the dark place where a mechanic transits between reality and the fictional world of books.

João is a lonely boy living in the outback. No friends, no mother, and no bond with his father, he finds a chance to overcome his fears and a possibility to fit in when a small circus arrives in town.

The boy's best friend is Balú, a mongrel dog. But his mother doesn't allow the dog to stay at home. One day Balú mysteriously disappears. In search of his lost friend, the boy will discover the world around him.