Roberta Marques | Brazil | 2011 | 85’ | In Portuguese | English subtitles
“I have this bad thing in my chest. It only goes away when I dance.” 16-year-old Rânia lives for dancing, she dreams of a dancing career. It is not a dream easy to realise, for Rânia lives in the slums of the northern Brazilian town of Fortaleza and has to divide her time between school, home and a job in a beach bar. One day her streetwise best friend Zizi takes her along to Sereia da Noite, a snazzy nightclub, where Zizi works as a pole dancer. Rânia could do so as well. But she wants more: she wants to become a real, serious dancer. Choreographer Estela recognizes her potential and invites Rânia to join an international dance troupe. Rânia has to choose: should she opt for the easy money as a pole dancer or study hard, every day, for a chance of a serious dancing career?
Director Roberta Marques carefully avoids the obvious melodramatic pitfalls by not depicting Rânia any more wretched or underprivileged than she is. She is who she is. The film sticks closely to Rânia’s story, in exquisite images that underscore Rânia’s deepest desire: dancing, dancing, dancing. A film by Roberta Marques.
Screenings:
THU 16 AUG - 21:45 |
FRI 17 AUG - 21:45 |
