No coração do mundo

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The heart of the world: that is what Selma yearns for. Not that she has a concrete place in her head. It could be anywhere, as long as she is happier. A better life like that, that’s what all the characters want in the mosaic film No coração do mundo. Bus conductor Ana regularly faces abuse in the bus where she works while taking care of her father. Her boyfriend Marcos is involved with a hit job that went wrong. The hitman was Beto. His brother Miro has to lend him money to flee − which he gets from his lover Rose, who has a beauty salon and also wants to work as an Uber driver.

No coração do mundo follows the inhabitants of a poor neighbourhood in the Brazilian city of Contagem as they attempt to make life easier − something the women tackle with strikingly more energy than the men. Committing a burglary is just as natural as setting up as a school photographer. As long as it earns money.

Gabriel Martins and Maurílio Martins embroider on their earlier short films Contagem (2010) and Dona Sônia Borrowed a Gun from her Neighbor Alcides (IFFR, 2012). They come from this area themselves and base their intriguing characters on people they know. They lovingly capture the district, with surprising camerawork, an excellent cast of professional and amateur actors and an inventive soundtrack, from sugary American ballads to Brazilian rap.

Also see Nada.