After an absence of many years Fernanda returns to her uncle’s ranch in Goiás in mid-western Brazil, bringing the ashes of her deceased adoptive mother back home. Her appearance and her relentless search for the truth about her roots shake the façade of her middle-class family. For her uncle, a landowner and a conservative mayor of the local municipality who is campaigning for re-election, Fernanda’s investigations are rapidly becoming a threat. But she remains unyielding in her bid for truth and justice. In her surreal, fantastical debut, Flávia Neves masterfully interweaves the search for one’s own origins with Brazil’s colonial past. At the heart of this family drama is the confrontation with antiquated traditions, exploitative relationships and with those who profit from them. Fogaréu depicts an inspiring attempt to break out of hardened structures as well as the hope for a new beginning. "FOGARÉU is aesthetically arresting and directed with self-assuredness by first-time filmmaker Flávia Neves. FOGARÉU is an allegory, a low-key horror film. It blends surrealism, film noir, folklore, and fantasy--perhaps it's a Rorschach inkblot. It is whatever we project onto it. Neves does have something to say. Fernanda, played by Bárbara Colen, returns to Goiás and uncovers a shocking practice where wealthy families use neurodiverse children as domestic servants. As she stays with her supposed adoptive family, Fernanda uncovers yet darker secrets, where incest and consanguineous relationships have become normalized. However, Fernanda discovers that some of these individuals possess supernatural gifts that can help her unravel her own mystery. Neves highlights the struggles of the Indigenous population as they fight for their land against wealthy neo-colonizers. The film will leave you unsettled, and I suppose that is the point." (Malik Isasis - Sooner Kurator)
Drama, Queer
1h 40min
16+
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SV
EN
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PT
In her surreal and fantastic debut, Flávia Neves masterfully combines the search for her own origins with Brazil's colonial past.
After an absence of many years Fernanda returns to her uncle’s ranch in Goiás in mid-western Brazil, bringing the ashes of her deceased adoptive mother back home. Her appearance and her relentless search for the truth about her roots shake the façade of her middle-class family. For her uncle, a landowner and a conservative mayor of the local municipality who is campaigning for re-election, Fernanda’s investigations are rapidly becoming a threat. But she remains unyielding in her bid for truth and justice.
In her surreal, fantastical debut, Flávia Neves masterfully interweaves the search for one’s own origins with Brazil’s colonial past. At the heart of this family drama is the confrontation with antiquated traditions, exploitative relationships and with those who profit from them. Fogaréu depicts an inspiring attempt to break out of hardened structures as well as the hope for a new beginning.
"FOGARÉU is aesthetically arresting and directed with self-assuredness by first-time filmmaker Flávia Neves. FOGARÉU is an allegory, a low-key horror film. It blends surrealism, film noir, folklore, and fantasy--perhaps it's a Rorschach inkblot. It is whatever we project onto it. Neves does have something to say. Fernanda, played by Bárbara Colen, returns to Goiás and uncovers a shocking practice where wealthy families use neurodiverse children as domestic servants. As she stays with her supposed adoptive family, Fernanda uncovers yet darker secrets, where incest and consanguineous relationships have become normalized. However, Fernanda discovers that some of these individuals possess supernatural gifts that can help her unravel her own mystery. Neves highlights the struggles of the Indigenous population as they fight for their land against wealthy neo-colonizers. The film will leave you unsettled, and I suppose that is the point." (Malik Isasis - Sooner Kurator)