Manas
A Brazilian drama about a girl growing up in a traditional community on Marajó Island in the Amazon region, who challenges the oppressive system that dictates the fate of women in her society.
In the depths of the Amazon rainforest, thirteen-year-old Marcielle (Tielle) lives by the riverbanks with her father, mother, and three siblings – manas means sisterhood. Prompted by her mother’s words, she idolizes her older sister who supposedly escaped her reality by ‘finding a good man’. As Tielle matures, her idealized visions shatter, leaving her trapped between two abusive environments. Increasingly worried about her younger sister and the bleak future they face, she decides to confront the oppressive system that controls her family and the women in their community.
Whilst working on a documentary research project in the remote villages of the Amazon rainforest, director Marianna Brennand met women who had endured immense trauma since a tender age, suffering sexual abuse inside their homes while also being sexually exploited at commercial barges with hardly any chance to escape. Through Manas, she wants to give a voice to these women and girls who would never be heard otherwise.
Manas won the award for Best Director during the Venice Days, an independent parallel section of the Venice Film Festival.