Não devore meu coração!

Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!
“When I go to sleep, I see her. When I open my eyes, I see her. When I draw in my notebook, I draw her. When I get in the shower, I see images of her.”

Thick fog lies over the Rio Apa, the river that runs between Brazil and Paraguay. The bodies of dead men float downstream. But the 13-year-old Joca is in love with the mysterious alligator girl Basano of the Guaraní people, who lives on the opposite shore. But it is not only the river that separates the young Brazilian from his first love: There are also scars from the past, battles between the rival biker gangs: Joca's older brother, a reluctant gangster, and Basano's cousin, who wants her for himself. Set to the sounds of revving engines in the diffuse light of the swamps, Bragança portrays the attitudes and lives of a fearless generation in a modern Romeo and Juliet story.
by Felipe Bragança
with Eduardo Macedo, Adeli Gonzales, Cauã Reymond, Zahy Guajajara, Cláudia Assunção, Marco Lóris, Márcio Verón, Leopoldo Pacheco, Ney Matogrosso
Brazil / Netherlands / France 2017 Portuguese, Spanish, Guaraní 108’ Colour

With

  • Eduardo Macedo (Joca)
  • Adeli Gonzales (Basano La Tatuada)
  • Cauã Reymond (Fernando)
  • Zahy Guajajara (Lucía)
  • Cláudia Assunção (Joana)
  • Marco Lóris (Telecath)
  • Márcio Verón (Alberto)
  • Leopoldo Pacheco (César)
  • Ney Matogrosso (Mago)

Crew

Written and Directed by Felipe Bragança
Cinematography Glauco Firpo
Editing Jon Kadocsa
Music Baris Akardere
Sound Design Fernando Henna, Daniel Turini
Sound Marcos Lopes
Production Design Dina Salem Levy
Costumes Ana Carolina Lopes
Make-Up Tati Chaves
Casting Giovani Barros
Assistant Director Thiago Brito
Production Managers Eliane Ferreira, Marina Meliande
Producers Marina Meliande, Marcos Prado
Co-Producers Raymond Van Der Kaaij, Dijana Olcay-Hot, Yohann Cornu, Cauã Reymond, Mario Canivello
Co-Production Revolver Amsterdam Amsterdam
Damned Films Paris
Globo Filmes Rio de Janeiro
Canal Brasil Rio de Janeiro

World sales

Mundial

Produced by

Duas Mariola

Felipe Bragança

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1980, his short films and experimental features – often made in collaboration with creative partner Marina Meliande – have screened at high-profile festivals including two outings in the Berlinale's Forum Expanded programme. He regularly works with Karim Aïnouz as an assistant director and screenwriter, as he did on the feature film Praia do futuro which screened in the Berlinale Competition in 2014. In the same year Bragança was invited to participate in the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin programme, during which he developed the screenplay for Não devore meu coração!

Filmography (selection)

2009 Escape of the Monkey Woman 2010 A alegria 2013 Fernando que ganhou um pássaro do mar (Fernando Who Received A Bird From The Sea); short film 2015 Escape From My Eyes; short film 2017 Não devore meu coração! (Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017