Director Gabriel Mascaro

Countries Brazil

Duration 85 min

Synopsis
Pirambu, a fisherman, was removed from both his home in the slums and his livelihood, in order to make way for the construction of the Brasilia Formosa Avenue, which occupies a valuable stretch of Recife’s urban coastline. Fabio who works with video, registering important events in the community, holds rare images of an historic and emblematic visit by President Lula to the neighbourhood when the slum was destroyed. Fabio is hired by Debora, a manicurist, to film her Big Brother application video. He also films the birthday party of Cauan, a five year Spiderman fan. Through the day-to-day routine of Pirambu, Fabio, Debora and Cauan and a poetic web of encounters memories and desires the film Defiant Brasilia provides a sensorial insight into the contemporary reality of its residents and their relationship with the newly constructed avenue. Placing real characters within a fictional structure and with a strong photographic conceptual framework, the film draws you into a cinemagraphic dance, a ballet that suspends and sustains reality on the very point of its toes.