Íssis Valenzuela

The Joy of Things

In a small Brazilian seaside town we follow the efforts of Paula, who is pregnant of her third child, to build a pool in her humble beach house, so the family can enjoy the rest of their vacation. Financial difficulties will interrupt the work and reveal certain aspects of a tense family routine, full of small frustrations.

The Fantastic Garden

An indigenous teacher implements the use of Ayahuasca in her classes in order to connect her students to another reality. During a ritual, one of the children comes upon a weird gear in the forest.

Shine Your Eyes

A Nigerian musician travels to Brazil to search for his estranged brother, who is living a life very different than the one his family thought.

Shine Your Eyes

A Nigerian musician travels to Brazil to search for his estranged brother, who is living a life very different than the one his family thought.

A Day with Jerusa

"A Day with Jerusa" follows Silvia, a young, mediumic market researcher facing the hardships of underemployment while awaiting the result of a public exam, and Jerusa, a gracious 77-year-old lady, eyewitness to the daily life on Bixiga, a neighborhood filled with ancestral memories. On Jerusa's birthday, while she waits for her family's arrival, the encounter between her deepest memories and Silvia's mediumship allows them to travel through time and realities common to their ancestry.

Ballad of Return

One day, Eduardo arrives at his house and discovers that Julia, his wife, tried to commit suicide. She left her husband and two children without saying goodbye. After some time, she comes back home. He tries everything to set her straight, but the impossibility of knowing her fully grieves him. The shadow of the suicide and the inevitable ghost of a new chance hover over their heads. Eduardo insists on understanding his wife, but an increasing jealousy and an unexpected discovery of her past torture him. He does not realize that, most of the time, the search for control easily becomes an obsession.

Lightrapping

Gustave is a photographer who makes pictures of nude male bodies in public spaces in São Paulo. One night, Pedro goes with him, without yet knowing whether he will be part of the project. This vast city will be witness.

The Ballerina

Diamante is a gay boxer who stands out for his body control and fast leg movements. At night, he performs as a drag queen at a nightclub. His judgmental coach leaves him out of a boxing competition, but Diamante wants to be a champion.

Laio

While out with his friends for fun one night in São Paulo, Leandro is confronted with glimpses of his own violence. The film is loosely inspired by the homophobic attack that occurred in the Paulista Avenue area, in which teenagers used fluorescent lamps as a weapon.

Romance .38

Jorge is a writer trying to finish his first novel with the help of his girlfriend. But she doesn't know how real is the fiction of his book.