Karina Buhr

A film from the skater world of São Paulo, where it is women who call the shots. Bagdá is surrounded by self-confident role models in her family. However, outside on the streets, in the venues and clubs, the old machismo continues to dominate. Bagdá and her fellow comrades-in-arms confront it defiantly.

Mangue Beat, a musical and aesthetic movement which emerged in Pernambuco in the 1990s, transformed the visibility of the peripheries and cultural manifestations of the metropolitan area of Recife and placed the state on the map of the world music market with the launching of bands like Chico Science and Nação Zumbi and Mundo Livre S.A. The film experiments with the freedomn of thought of the Mangue using a plural language, which brings togther ideias and ideals, refleting the daring which resulted in the great symbol of the movement: a satellite dish planted in the mud of the estuaries - the Mangue.

Glória Hartman, a mature woman going through an existential and financial crisis, returns to her hometown, which is undergoing a process of abandonment. Through a crack in the ruins of where the writer Clarice Lispector once lived, Glória begins to see fantastic scenes that will change her life.

An emotional geographic reading of the city of São Paulo, created through hundreds of love stories from its residents. Neighborhoods, streets, parks and houses that sometimes no longer exist, or are invisible to most people, come to life in the stories told by the inhabitants.

From 2000 to 2007, Teat(r)o Oficina Uzyna Uzona worked on the staging of Euclides da Cunha's epic book, Os Sertões, which describes the 19th Century War of Canudos in the Brazilian "sertão"(backlands). The result was the pentalogy of plays: A Terra (2002), O Homem I (2003), O Homem II (2003), A Luta I (2005), and A Luta II (2006). This first play is a carnival opera, the actors are the earth, the vegetation, the wind, the animals, the rivers, the drought. It reveals the most intimate secrets of nature, that also vibrate in the human and trans-human arteries. This work enriched by the experience that the subsequent works brought gains an updated insight into the human interference in the environment. Destructive power is proportional to financial power, and the discussion about the way space gets occupied was brought to the forefront, including the real-estate boom that surrounds today not only Teatro Oficina, but the whole world, now hotter and more arid.

Vera and Alda are neighbors and work at the same school: Vera is a teacher, Alda a cleaner. The link between them is Joana, Alda’s granddaughter and Vera’s student. Vera is trapped in a violent relationship with her boyfriend. Alda, for her part, begins studying again and soon realizes she’s also in an abusive relationship: her son, Dinho, won’t let her focus on herself and insists that she take care of his daughter, Joana. Vera and Alda find in their friendship a safe space to share their pain and desires, slowly shifting the power dynamics at home and at work, but they also have to face new risks.

Velcro is more than just a bar — it’s the realization of Dayanne’s dream in the heart of Recife. On opening night, she takes the stage with her guitar and voice, delivering a diverse setlist. That’s where she meets Josy, a striking young singer with a powerful voice. Their meeting marks the beginning of a love story and a musical duo that transforms Velcro into the beating heart of a queer and sapphic rhapsody, filling the city with music, freedom, and a vibrant revolution.

Christine, a victim of domestic violence, escaping and wandering the streets of São Paulo. In her drift, she experiences situations because she is a woman and meets other women who reflect on the need to think about cities from a gender, race and class perspective to denaturalize violence against women both in public and in domestic places. The morning after escaping, Christine returns home to take revenge on her aggressor with the help of the woman she has encountered.

The concert “Macumba live in Recife” starring Johnny Hooker. Recorded live at Baile Perfumado in Recife in April 2016.