Directors: Grace Passô, André Novais Oliveira
Interview: Adriana Johnson, Keiji Kunigami
Translation: Raquel de Souza
Transcription: Thainã de Medeiros
Republica (Republic, 2020) is an experimental short film written, directed, and performed by Grace Passô during the COVID-19 lockdown in São Paulo. In the film, Passô picks up the phone and hears that a shaman has discovered Brazil is only a dream—a dream someone dreamed that will end as soon as that person wakes up.
André Novais Oliveira’s Temporada (Long Way Home, 2018) follows what might be a temporary new season and place in the life of Juliana (played by Passô) as she moves to the city of Contagem for a job working in dengue prevention and waits for her husband to join her. While the film bears the mark of the invisible pull of the off-screen husband, Juliana’s job—a government directed form of care work—pushes her into a variety of...