Shirley Cruz

The Best Mother in the World

To escape her abusive husband, garbage collector Gal packs her two young children, Rihanna and Benin, onto the top of her cart and heads across São Paulo to her cousin’s house. As she struggles to avoid the dangers of the streets along the way, she convinces the children that they are on a big and exciting adventure. When they arrive at her cousin’s house, they are warmly welcomed and fed. However, what initially seems like a safe haven soon turns out to be a trap. Gal realises that not only her own safety is at risk, but also the future of her children.

The Business Women’s Club

Jongo, a renowned photographer, and Candinho, a young and inexperienced journalist, arrive at a decaying country club of São Paulo's high society, run by women involved with the law.

Revolta dos Malês

Salvador, Bahia, January 1835. After more than a decade of hard work, Guilhermina, 27, a slave of Muslim origin, finally gets the resources to buy her manumission, as well as that of Teresa, 11, her teenage daughter. But, contrary to an old promise, his “lord”, farmer Souza Velho, refuses to sell the girl's letter. When Pacific Licutan, Salvador's most esteemed Islamic leadership, is arrested by the Bahian authorities, the Muslim community goes into a boiling state and begins to articulate a jihad. In desperation, Guilhermina sees in the uprising the only way to win her daughter's freedom.

Pacified

Tati, an introspective 13 year old girl struggles to connect with her estranged father, Jaca, after he is released from prison in the turbulent wake of the Rio Olympics. As Brazilian Pacification Police battle to maintain a tenuous occupation of the surrounding Rio favelas, Tati and Jaca must navigate the clashing forces threatening to derail their hope for the future.

Lavender

During carnival Flaviana lives a pretty difficult dilemma; how to disguise from her last night lover who refuses to get out of her shower?

Invisible Life

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.

Legalize it!

The meeting between two young guys, Marcelo —in the future, Marcelo D2— and Skunk , who sold t-shirts and cassette tapes in the center of Rio de Janeiro to survive, resulted in one of the most popular bands in Brazil in the 1990’s, Planet Hemp. Suppressed by a prejudiced society, the two made of their music a cry of alertness and resistance, conquering the hearts and minds of an entire generation.

Jonah

During Carnival in São Paulo, a young man and young woman who knew each other as children meet again after many years and the social barriers that have kept them apart. Bad decisions lead the boy to hide with the girl inside a whale float.

Mato Sem Cachorro

The day a man almost runs-over a puppy, he meets the love of his life. The couple and their dog live the dream, until she wants out.

AE-Autoexposure

After a shooting assignment, Henrique is mugged by two armed motor-bikers who steal his camera and speed off. Seconds later, he watches both get hit by a pickup truck driven by a self-appointed avenger, someone weary of feeling defenseless against the urban violence, and who decided to take action. Henrique recovers his stolen equipment and leaves, feeling avenged. But he goes back to find the memory card, with the photos, lost during the crash. From that moment, he is trapped in a situation where he is now the criminal for failing to rescue a victim, who had been his aggressor. Going from the murder scene to the police station, and then to the emergency ward of the public hospital, he attempts to clear himself.

Redeemer

Célio Rocha believes he was assigned by God Himself a difficult mission: to persuade his childhood friend Otávio Sabóia, a corrupt entrepeneur in the construction business, to give away all his possessions to the poor.