back

A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo

The Fabulous Time Machine | Die fabelhafte Zeitmaschine
Generation Kplus 2026
© Eliza Capai
“Before everything, it was dark. Then God started playing and making all things up. He made the man from the dust, and the woman from the man … Would women be different if they were made from dust, too? I’m glad I’m not a woman yet. Not me or my girlfriends.” This is how A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo begins. Told from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl, the film follows her and her friends’ journey from childhood to adolescence. Despite living in houses with dirt floors, without tap water, amid the aridity of the Brazilian sertão, they state that they were born with perks – able to eat, study, play, and dream of better futures. The girls invent time machines and travel to a past that was all about pure survival. They playfully deal with complex issues such as gender differences, alcoholism and religion. They joke about death, frustration and fears. Childhood innocence gradually gives way to a mixture of curiosity and anxiety about becoming teenagers. When they realise that fighting against the passage of time is futile, they travel to the future and envision becoming independent and successful women.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

To view this content, you must enable third-party cookies. >
by Eliza Capai (Director, Screenplay), Daniel Grinspum (Screenplay)
with Manuellinha, Manu, Sophia Brazil 2026 Portuguese 70' Colour World premiere | Documentary form recommendation: 10 years and up

With

  • Manuellinha (Manuellinha)
  • Manu (Manu)
  • Sophia (Sophia)

Crew

Director Eliza Capai
Screenplay Eliza Capai, Daniel Grinspum
Cinematography Carol Quintanilha
Editing Daniel Grinspum, Eliza Capai
Music Décio 7
Sound Design Daniel Turini, Marília Mencucini
Producer Mariana Genescá
Executive Producer Mariana Genescá

Produced by

Amana Cine

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Co-produced by

Globo Filmes/Globo News

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Canal Brasil

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

World Sales

Split Screen

Zagreb, Croatia

Photos

Eliza Capai

©Joao Pina

The documentary filmmaker focuses her work on issues surrounding gender and society. Her most recent documentary, Incompatível com a Vida, reflects on neonatal loss, abortion and mourning and won Best Documentary at the É Tudo Verdade film festival. Espero tua (re)volta, which follows the political awakening of three school pupils, premiered in the Generation section of the Berlinale where it won the Amnesty International Film Award before going on to screen at over 120 other festivals. A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo is her fifth feature film.

Filmography

2013 Tão Longe é Aqui (Here Is So Far) 2014 Severinas; short film · No Devagar depressa dos Tempos (As time flies slowly by); short film 2016 O Jabuti e a Anta (The Tortoise and the Tapir) 2017 #Resistência (#Resistance) 2019 Espero tua (re)volta (Your Turn); documentary, Berlinale 2019 2021 Elize Matsunaga: Era uma vez um crime (Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime); series, 4 episodes 2023 Incompatível com a Vida (Incompatible with Life) · Dear Supreme Court of Brazil, use your power; short film 2024 O Prazer é Meu (It’s my Pleasure); series, 5 episodes 2026 A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo (The Fabulous Time Machine); documentary, Berlinale 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026