The Fever

A middle-aged native widower in Brazil, Justino lives his life according to set patterns. He puts in long shifts as a security guard in the Port of Manaus, then returns to the Amazon where he lives with his family. When his daughter says she wants to study in Brasilia, Justino’s regular life gradually becomes disrupted. His pain manifests itself in the form of a mysterious fever.

The Fever is the fiction feature debut of Brazilian Maya Da-Rin, noted for her previous documentaries Margin (2007) and Lands (2009), both also shot in the Amazon. With its stunning hypnotic, minimalist photography, this drama about desire, tenderness and suffocating modernity – made with support from the Hubert Bals Fund – won the international film critics’ award in Locarno. Lead actor Regis Myrupu also picked up a Best Actor Leopard, and the youth jury recognised the film for its treatment of the "environment and quality of life". Justified praise: The Fever is pure cinema.