Feature Film | Documentary Genre – 90 min.

From San Martino de Cilento to São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.

From street vendors to entrepreneurs of Rio’s nightlife.
From dreamers to visionaries: pioneers of cinema in Brazil.

The story of the Segreto brothers intertwines with the history of cinema
and the city of Rio de Janeiro during the transition from monarchy to republic.

The three are key characters to understand the cultural scene
of Belle Époque in Rio and the profound political, social, and cultural transformations
that occurred in the evolution from the provincial capital of Imperial Brazil
to the newly urbanized Federal Capital that aspired to be the “Paris of the tropics”
– and the echoes of these transformations that resonate in the city to this day.

THE DIRECTORS
Federico Ferrone and Michele Manzolini have been working together since 2007.
Their work focuses on the creative use of audiovisual repertoires, in narratives that situate themselves on the border between archives, documentaries, and fiction. Their films have been selected for festivals such as Venice, Karlovy Vary, Visions du Réel, and Turin.

In 2007, their first film, “Merica” (co-directed with Francesco Ragazzi), drew parallels between Italian emigration to Brazil in the 1800s and the immigration that concerns Italy today. In 2013, “Il Treno Va a Mosca” was presented at the 31st Torino Film Festival in the main competition and successfully distributed by Instituto Luce Cinecittà.

In 2019, at the 76th Venice Film Festival, the two authors presented “Il Varco” in the Official Selection. The film, produced by Kinéem in association with Instituto Luce Cinecittà, and collaboration with Rai Cinema and Home Movies, received a special mention from the jury at Annecy Cinema Italien and was screened at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. In 2020, it was selected for the Shanghai International Film Festival and for Docsbarcelona, where it won the What the Doc! Award for Best Film.

Direction and script: Federico Ferrone and Michele Manzolini

Story and research: Kiti Soares
Image research: Patrícia Pamplona
Research coordination: Hernani Heffner
Cinematography: Luís Abramo
Editing: Maria Fantastica Valmori
Sound design and music: Simonluca Laitempergher

Executive Production:
Jon Coplon, Juliana de Carvalho, and Piero Mancini

Co-production:

Bang Filmes (Brazil) & Stayblack (Italy)

Download PDF