Film poster "A Festa de Léo"
© Coqueirão Pictures
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Film poster "A Festa de Léo"
© Coqueirão Pictures
Past events
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Leo’s 12th birthday threatens to be a disaster when his mother Rita discovers that his father has stolen the money for the party. They live in Rio’s notorious Vidigal favela, which heats things up dangerously as his father is hunted by brutal debtors. But Rita knows the laws of Vidigal so well that she at least wants to try to override them for a short time.

It’s Leo’s 12th birthday and his mum Rita wakes him up with new soccer shoes and kisses. But what follows is anything but a ‘happy birthday’: his father Dudu has stolen the money that Rita wanted to use to finance Leo’s party. Things get even worse when armed creditors threaten Dudu’s life, if not….

A family thriller from Rio, in which the notorious Vidigal favela is not a ‘poverty porn’ backdrop, but is staged as a social labyrinth with its very own laws. By and with people who know the favela, with its football pitches and rooftops with Ipanema on the horizon well enough to move cleverly and smoothly also in front of the camera. Especially the women, who show off their elegance not only on the dance floor.

Programme

8 pm
Talk with Luciana Bezerra (Director) and Dorothee Wenner and Sidney Martins (moderator) in German

9 pm
Film

Film still "A Festa de Léo"
© Coqueirão Pictures, Filmstill: Mariana Vianna
Trailer
Film still "A Festa de Léo"
© Coqueirão Pictures, Filmstill: Mariana Vianna

Participants

Luciana Bezerra is a scriptwriter, director, actress, and President of Grupo Nós do Morro. A resident of Morro do Vidigal, where she was born, she works as an art educator in the Grupo Nós do Morro and in other NGOs and popular art collectives. With 25 years of filmmaking experience, she has done important work such as casting research and interpretation workshops for the film “Cidade de Deus”, O2 Filmes (2002). Her first short film “Mina de Fé” (2004) received script awards as Best Fiction Short at 37 Fest. Brasília, Best Fiction, Curta Cinema/2004, and was shown in more than 20 countries. In 2023, “How To Be a Carioca”, series that Luciana was one of the directors, premiered at Star +. Her last film “Leo’s Party” received the Special Mention and Best Acrtress Award in Festin 2024.

The director of "A festa de Léo" Luciana Bezerra
© Thayná Bonin

part of

Partner

With the kind support of CineBrasil

Cine Brasil neu
In the Humboldt Forum's foyer there is a 17 meter high media tower, called "cosmograph". It gives visitors comprehensive information about their visit and can transform into an art and light installation.
© SHF / David von Becker

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