B IS FOR BRAZIL
Juliana Antunes spent 5 years living in the favelas and documenting the lives and bodies of women there. This film is the result, a study of Andreia and Leid, two women with drastically different but remarkably similar, intertwined lives. Andreia wants to move to a better neighborhood and saves money while giving street mani-pedis. Leid waits for her husband to get out of prison while caring for a brood of her small male children. The gangs in the favela are at war, the rain season is coming, and being underprivileged, as usual, means not having dreams come true.
A searing documentary with subtle but successful narration. Andreia and Leid both have complicated backstories and aspirations for the future, but the periphery of the favelas keeps trying to suck them in. The heat, the supple bodies, the beige beehive bricks of the shanties and the salty humor make this an irresistible film with undeniable social importance. And what a complicated portrait of feminity.
Baronesa, 2017
Director: Juliana Antunes
