Goddess of the Water

Weslei lives in a shantytown on the edge of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, a paradisiacal dune desert in northern Brazil. For everyone, he is a little boy. But Weslei dreams of a completely different body.

Pitch

Synopsis

Deusa das Aguas is the story of Weslei, a young boy trapped in a male’s body who dreams of being a girl. In his own world, this female body, that is so hard to accept, takes a dreamlike form and turns into a mermaid’s body. To achieve his goal, he will have to fight an aggressive and oppressive dad.

Director statement

A few years ago, as I was still living in Brazil, I heard about an exhibition entitled “Queermuseu” which was abruptly censored after several Brazilian conservatives reported it. That’s when I discovered Bia Leite, a young artist from Fortaleza and truly committed to the LGBTQ+ artistic world in Brazil. One particular painting appealed to me. It was called “Deusa das Aguas” and represented a little boy depicted like a goddess of waters, a kind of superhero in a swimsuit. I was deeply touched by all the joy that came from that portrait; it was innocent and free of any stereotype. That was the starting point of the “Goddess of the Water”. Bia and I decided to create an immersive installation that would mix my cinema and her art. The challenge was to find the best way to tell the story I had in mind, but also to include the voices of queer artists that are censored in Brazil. Together, we started imagining this concept, and the way to recreate the universe of my movie into the exhibition. The main idea is to invite the audience into Weslei’s imagination and to extend the experience of the 360 film. I also want people to feel the violence exerted on this little boy by society. The audience will act as spectators at the events while sharing some moments of complicity with Weslei.

Director biography

Inspired by the work of the Dziga Vertov Group, João Paulo founded the Kino-olho group in Brazil, a collective of artists who reflect and debate on cinema. Their goal is to encourage the imaging of the stories and folklore of Brazilian culture. It is in the specificities of the hinterland of São Paulo that João Paulo finds the themes and aesthetics that nourish his cinema. In 2015 his first short film, Command Action premiered at Le Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. The following year, his second short, The Girl Dancing with the Devil, received a Special Mention of the Jury of Cannes’ Official Competition. His latest film, Meninas Formicida, produced by Les Valseurs, was selected at the 2017 Venice Film Festival. João’s first feature film, Memory House, produced by Maneki Films, is the only Latin-American entry in the 2020 Cannes Official Selection. João is now writing his second film, Bandeira, produced by Les Valseurs and RT Features.

Huidige status

We are currently in the development phase.

Goals

We’re planning to shoot in summer 2021 in Brazil, and we’re currently looking for international co-producers who would bring their expertise in VR, gap-financiers and partners who can help us developing and structuring our installation. We’re also looking for museums, galleries and cultural spaces to host our installation. Our subject is both universal and essential, and we want to do our utmost to ensure that it reaches the widest possible international audience.