The series tells the story of the São Paulo International Film Festival, one of the most traditional cultural events in Latin America. For 48 years, the festival has showcased hundreds of films from all over the world, bringing vibrancy to the city. Filmmaker Marina Person provides an irreverent perspective, highlighting the exciting and unusual stories that have marked the festival’s journey of resistance. The series reveals the individuals who have embraced the challenge of organizing this significant cultural event in Brazil every year, despite often challenging conditions. We also delves into how the Mostra has grown to become one of the main festivals globally, shedding light on the changes in cinema, Brazil, and the world over the years.

Viva o Cinema! Uma História da Mostra de São Paulo

In the North of Brazil, prisoners take part in a radical re-socialization process. Far from the prison cells, they attend alternative therapies like meditation, reike, Ayurvedic massage and family constellation. During the day, they review their past and their worldviews, facing their ghosts, their beloved ones and their victims, in an anxious search for reconciliation. However, at night and on weekends, they return to the toxic prison existence. While they wait for a new therapeutic facility to be built, capable of accommodating everyone full-time, another maximum security prison is inaugurated, threatening the permanence of some participants in the project.