Documentary Films - Competition 2005 / Estamira / Brazil 2004
Sixty-three-year-old Estamira suffers from schizophrenia. For twenty years she has been spending all her time at the huge Jardim Gramacho rubbish dump near Rio de Janeiro. Prado, who produced the film Bus 174 three years ago, screened at Karlovy Vary, has created a stunning portrait of a fascinating individual with a highly distinctive life philosophy.
Sixty-three-year-old Estamira suffers from schizophrenia. For twenty years she has been spending all her time at the huge Jardim Gramacho rubbish dump near Rio de Janeiro. From the year 2000, when she began treatment at a psychiatric clinic, director and producer Marcos Prado began to accompany her with his camera. He captures not only her psychotic states full of negative energy, but also moments of tranquility and inner serenity, during which we discover more about her painful past. Estamira’s children vainly try to prevent their mother from returning to the trash heap where she appears to feel most at home. “No-one can live without Estamira”, she states about herself, and then continues her curious philosophising, surrounded by other outcasts who move about slowly, apocalyptically surveying the piles of rubbish. These b+w stylised shots, taken from the very ends of the Earth, bring images of the many years’ struggle this fascinating woman has endured with the world around her, and within her very being.
115 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Marcos Prado
/ Dir. of Photography Marcos Prado
/ Music Décio Rocha
/ Editor Tuco
/ Producer José Padilha
/ Production Zazen Producoes
/ Contact Zazen Producoes
Marcos Prado (Brazil) studied at the Brooks Institute of Photography in California in the years 1983-1986. He is a renowned photographer whose work has won several international prizes (e.g. World Press Photo, Focus on Your World). He produced the documentary films The Charcoal People (Os Carvoeiros, 1999) and Bus 174 (Onibus 174, 2002). His directing debut Estamira won the International Jury Prize at last year’s São Paulo festival.
Zazen Producoes
Praca Pio XI 6, Sala 102, 22461-080, Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
Phone: +55 21 253 554 07
Fax: +55 21 253 965 43
E-mail: [email protected]
José Padilha
Film Director
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