Brazilian Movie Will Compete Again for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival

04/15/2016 - 10h24

There is a familiar sound around. After eight years, once again the Portuguese language spoken with a Brazilian accent is heard at the main competition of the most important film festival in the world.

More precisely, the accent is that of the state of Pernambuco. "Aquarius", the new movie of Recife's film director Kleber Mendonça Filho (who directed "O Som ao Redor") will dispute the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

"The movie will be out of control, and that is fantastic. There are many people, a lot of press coverage and attention. You have to be prepared for the impact because you get exposed a lot," Mendonça Filho told Folha.

"I cannot answer the questions on what the movie is like or what is its place in my filmography," says Mendonça Filho. "I don't think it is right for a filmmaker to label his works before they are exhibited."

Very little information is known about the movie: the story of "Aquarius" revolves around Clara (Sonia Braga), a 60-year-old widow who constantly clashes with a construction company which plans to buy her apartment and demolish the building where she lives, the last bastion of its style located on Boa Viagem avenue in Recife, the capital city of Pernambuco.

"The movie is about the importance of archives, which are not only physical, but also emotional, full of experiences and transformations," says Mendonça Filho. He also says that the movie echoes the "divided country you can find throughout Brazil."

In this year's Cannes Film Festival, "Aquarius" is the only Latin American movie among the 20 films in the competition - 13 are European, three from the U.S., two from Asia and also a Canadian movie.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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