Corral by Marcelo Brennand
Two Brazilian films, the fiction short Under the Heavens / Seiva Bruta by Gustavo Milan and the feature film Corral by Marcelo Brennand, have won the top awards at the 24th hybrid edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival. Under the Heavens was the winner of the Grand Chameleon Award and the Best Narrative Short Award, while Corral won the Best Narrative Feature Award.
Under the Heavens, which had previously won the Best Latino Short Film Award from the Directors Guild of America, tells the story of Marta, a young Venezuelan mother, who is migrating to Brazil when she meets a struggling young couple with a baby girl. Her ability to breastfeed causes their fates to become forever entwined. Director Milan is currently living in New York City where he attends the NYU Tisch Graduate Film Program.
Corral is a political drama that takes place in rural Brazil, in the city of Gravatá. During the city hall elections, the population is divided between the Blue and Red parties, representing old oligarchies fighting for power. Due to a severe drought, water is the main bargaining chip to get votes from the population. Chico Caixa is a former city employee. He lost his job trying to take water supplies to a poor neighborhood, abandoned for political reasons. Caixa is invited by a childhood friend Joel, to work on his councilor campaign. Joel presents himself as an alternative to the old candidates. But as the campaign progresses, Chico Caixa soon realizes that breaking apart from the established political game is not always an easy alternative.
Other Latinx winners include Make Him Know by Rudy Valdez, which was the winner of the Best Short Documentary, and Walk with Me by Isabel del Rosal, winner of the Spirit Award for Best Narrative Feature. Make Him Know follows four-time WNBA champion and Olympic Gold medalist Maya Moore, as she embarks on a road trip from Atlanta, GA to Jefferson City, MO to bring home a wrongfully convicted man who, after 23 years behind bars, has not only become a part of her family, but has also strengthened her faith and inspired her pursuit of criminal justice reform.
Walk with Me by Cuban-American director del Rosal is a drama that follows a young mother as she braves life after divorce and who must challenge herself to take some personal risks after finding love in an unexpected place.
