By Arkady Petrov, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian film “A Vida invisível de Eurídice Gusmão” was the winner of the “Un Certain Regard” award at Cannes Festival, this Friday, 24th. This gives Brazil its first award in the main event’s parallel competition.
Directed by Karim Aïnouz from Ceará, it tells the story of two Carioca sisters in the 1950s, whose dreams are buried by the weight of a male-dominated society.
Fernanda Montenegro and Carol Duarte share the role of Eurídice. The film is scheduled to be released in November in Brazil.
“I am very honored to be representing Brazil here today. We are going through a moment in Brazil in which intolerance is very intense,” said the director when receiving the award.
“Above anything else, it is important that this award may encourage the future of Brazilian cinema and our cultural diversity so that we may have a better Brazil than that which we are experiencing now. I would like to dedicate it in particular to my beloved Fernanda Montenegro, to all the actresses in the film and all the women in the world.”
The “Un Certain Regard” award is a parallel competition to the official Cannes festival and aims to show and promote works in an experimental language. This year, its jury is presided by Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki.
The film is based on Martha Batalha’s novel by the same title. Julia Stockler plays Guida, Euridice’s sister. Gregório Duvivier, Marcio Vito, and Nikolas Antunes are also in the cast.
This is the third feature film by the Brazilian director presented in Cannes. His first participation was in 2002 with the film “Madame Satã”. He returned to the festival in 2011 with “O abismo prateado”.