Madalena

Against the vast fields of soy in Brazil’s Mato Grosso region, where the ostrich-like rhea roams at will, a trans woman has been murdered. Luziane (Natália Mazarim), a nightclub worker, Cristiano (Rafael de Bona), the closeted scion of rich landowners, and Bianca (Pamella Yule), a fellow trans woman, are all profoundly affected by Madalena’s death. Madiano Marcheti’s haunting and visually striking film - winner of best international film at the Istanbul Film Festival - is an exploration of place and a cri de coeur of protest: as noted in the closing credits, Brazil has the highest number of transsexual murders in the world, and, shockingly, the average life-expectancy for a trans person is 35 years old…

‘[A] formally bold [and] assured debut… With its saturated colour palette, vividly sketched vignettes and the co-existence of a banal reality with the hints of a supernatural
element, this film has something of the heady appeal of Mati Diop’s Atlantics.’ — Wendy Ide, Screen