Article by Romeo Gjokaj

Translation by Aurora Monteleone

The passing trains offer something unexpectedly precious to young Dé (Big Jaum). The movement of the carriages, their metallic and continuous rhythm, evokes the flow of life. For this reason, whenever he feels the need, Dé climbs the bridge overlooking the tracks with his grandmother Almerinda (Teca Pereira), who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Thus, both can silently watch the trains pass beneath them, giving themselves the illusion of being above their problems, if only for a brief moment.

Kasa Branca, the debut feature by the Brazilian director Luciano Vidigal, tells the story of the daily struggles faced by a teenager from the favelas as he fights to survive and care for his sick grandmother. Between the costs of medicine and rent, Dé bears an immense burden that often pushes him to the verge of collapse. Fortunately, he is surrounded by great friends who do everything they can to help him. So, we see during the film two opposing energies: that of the young, passionate protagonists experiencing their first adventures as the world demands they grow up – perhaps too quickly – and that of the elderly grandmother, whose life now hangs by a thin thread. The direction captures this dynamic by maintaining a certain distance from the characters, using static shots and wide frames that emphasize both the collective gaze and, from the heights of the hills, the entirety of Vidigal’s favela in Rio de Janeiro. The true protagonist, then, is the community.

The film offers an alternative story to the stereotypes of Brazilian social cinema, which, following the success of City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002), often associates favelas with crime. Luciano Vidigal himself directed City of God: 10 Years Later in 2013, a documentary that follows the lives of the cast from Meirelles’ film, composed mostly of non-professional actors discovered in the favelas, revealing that their lives have not changed at all and that most of them have returned to conditions of poverty and hardship. Their stories, therefore, were exploited and then forgotten. Kasa Branca resists this kind of exploitation, even while featuring the faces of the favelas on screen: in fact, the cast belongs to the local theater company Nós do Morro, which has been enabling its members to access the world of art and culture for nearly forty years. The director chooses to highlight the positive aspects of community life and relegates violence and crime to the background, making the film an act of resistance and an identity statement for Vidigal and Rio de Janeiro. The film is presented in competition at the 42nd edition of the Torino Film Festival.