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Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa)

Zizi (or Praying to a Fabulous Tree)
Forum Expanded 2025
© DUAS MARIOLA FILMES
Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa) is a fabular documentary based on memories of the suburban backyard where the director spent part of his childhood, before growing up in the big city and becoming a filmmaker. It tells the story of Dona Zizi, a woman of mixed Indigenous and Black background, who becomes the leader of this small territory after marrying a mysterious and silent blue-eyed man of unknown origins.
Mixing photos, documentary images, and scenes staged for the camera, the filmmaker directs himself and his family in a reflection on the passage of time, the colonial wounds still present in the family, and fragments of his first films as a director – which were filmed there, on that ground of affections and ghosts, and where the figure of a large tree symbolized a perhaps impossible eternity.
by Felipe M. Bragança (Director, Screenplay)
with Leo Tucherman, Felipe M. Bragança Brazil 2025 Portuguese 29' Colour & Black/White World premiere | Documentary form

With

  • Leo Tucherman
  • Felipe M. Bragança

Crew

Director Felipe M. Bragança
Screenplay Felipe M. Bragança
Cinematography Tiago Rios
Editing Karen Black, Felipe M. Bragança
Music Caxtrinho
Sound Design Fernando Henna
Production Design Felipe M. Bragança
Producers Marina Meliande, Felipe M. Bragança
Executive Producers Marina Meliande, Eduardo Cantarino

Produced by

Duas Mariola Filmes

RIOFILME

Photos

Felipe M. Bragança

© DUAS MARIOLA FILMES

Felipe M. Bragança is a filmmaker whose work is deeply rooted in Brazilian culture and historical memory, exploring its many layers using a distinctive form of magical realism. His films have been screened at festivals such as the Berlinale, Cannes, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno, and Sundance. Retrospectives of his work have been held at Jeu de Paume, California Institute of the Arts, Arsenal, and Wolf Kino. Bragança is currently developing a new adaptation of the Brazilian modernist classic Macunaíma by Mário de Andrade, which will be his fifth feature film. He has already been part of the Forum Expanded program with the films Fernando Que Ganhou Um Pássaro do Mar (with Helvécio Marins Jr., 2013) and Escape from my eyes (2015).

Filmography (selection)

2003 Por dentro de uma gota dágua (Waterbound) 2004 O nome dele (o clóvis) (His Name (the Clown)) 2006 Jonas e a baleia (Jonah and the Whale) 2009 A fuga da mulher gorila (Escape of the Monkey Woman) 2010 A alegria (The Joy) · Desassossego (filme das maravilhas) (Neverquiet (Film of Wonders)) 2012 Zahy 2013 Fernando que ganhou um pássaro do mar (Fernando Who Received A Bird From The Sea) · Claun 2015 Fuja dos meus olhos (Escape From My Eyes) 2017 Não devore meu coração! (Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!) 2019 Tragam-me a cabeça de Carmen M. (Bring Me the Head of Carmen M.) · Um Animal Amarelo (A Yellow Animal) 2025 Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025