João Vieira Jr.

Passages showcases Brazilian films in which the utilisation of artforms and media such as literature, painting, theatre, music, photography, radio and television, functions as a 'passage' to political and social reality.

In 1965 a VW Beetle is sold in São Paulo, Brazil. Forty years later, the car ends up in a Recife scrapyard in the northeast, with the license plate KFZ-1348. The documentary “The Beetle KFZ-1348” presents the stories of this car through its eight owners, whose lives show a unique portrait of a country.

A documentary film about the Brazilian town of Toritama, the self-proclaimed capital of jeans. The workers of the city’s self-managed small businesses only get one real break from their self-exploiting lives in the textile business: the annual Carnival.

Returning early from his vacation after the Carnival period to investigate the murder of a young French tourist, Breno Wanderley is faced with possible reflections of his own history from which he cannot escape. Between Ash Wednesday and post-Carnival Sunday, Breno tries to unravel the crime and sees in his son, also called Breno, a chance to reinvent himself in a broken and sullen city.​

Paulete, the star of a daring theater group, is visited by his military brother-in-law, the young Fininha. A torrid relationship arises between the two, and now the soldier must deal with the prevailing repression during the Brazilian military dictatorship.

Pedro, a 70-year-old gay nurse, is taking care of Daniela, his ailing transgender friend. In order to find her a vacant hospital bed, he decides to help an arrested and wounded criminal to escape.

Juvenal is a metro driver from Belo Horizonte. Margô, a station controller. Both live in a state of complete solitude – each in a particular way. Juvenal refuses to be alone and strolls through the streets of this metropolis taking comfort by mingling with the anonimous crowd. Margo seeks relief in the virtual world of social networks where she struggles to establish long lasting relations with real persons.

Brazil, 18th century. The colony of Portugal endures a decline in gold production. A Portuguese minority rules over a corrupt and autocratic society. Joaquim is an efficient soldier, famous for capturing gold smugglers. While waiting for his promotion to Lieutenant, he leaves for a risky mission in search of new gold mines - the only way to buy the freedom of Blackie, a slave he is in love with. Inspired by the true story of Tiradentes, the first leader of the Brazilian revolutionary movement.

On a hot summer day, Paloma decides to fulfill her most cherished dream: a traditional wedding in a church with her boyfriend Zé. She is a devoted mother, a hard-working farmhand in a papaya plantation and has been saving to afford the celebration. The priest’s refusal to marry her and Zé will force Paloma to confront the rural society. She suffers violence, betrayal, prejudice and injustice but nothing shakes the faith and determination of this transgender woman.

Three men from the past cross into the present to reveal the invisible marks of Brazilian history. Between memory, fantasy, and poetry, The Secret Life of My Three Men proposes a reckoning with the violence that shaped us and the possibility of another future.