10th edition CIFF – 10-14 April 2024

Where I grow old (A cidade onde envelheço) (2016 Feature Film)

Marília Rocha | Brazil, Portugal | 2016 | 99 min | Portuguese | e.s.
Two young Portuguese women try to put down roots in Brazil. Teresa is newly arrived; Francisca has been there a while. This sure-footed, loving portrait of two counterparts, attracting and repelling, is also an ode to Belo Horizonte: a city with no tourist attractions, but bags of atmosphere and lust for life.

Francisca is a Portuguese woman who has been living in Belo Horizonte, Brazil for a year. Francisca is not best pleased when an old acquaintance, Teresa, turns up and moves in for a while. There was every reason for them losing touch – Teresa is a babbling ball of energy, whereas the solitary Francisca much prefers peace and quiet. Nevertheless, it turns out to be a good combination, and a close friendship is hesitantly formed. At the same time, Teresa awakens in Francisca a desire for her homeland; she misses Lisbon and, with her 30th birthday looming, needs to decide where she wants to grow old. As Teresa enthusiastically finds her way in a new country and city, Francisca already seems to be saying goodbye. The third major role in this sensitive drama is set aside for Belo Horizonte – with three million inhabitants one of the largest cities in Brazil, although still relatively obscure. Lacking tourist magnets, the city relies on the geniality of its inhabitants (Francisca says they are “too free”; her friend corrects her: “sociable”), and on its ever-relaxed vibe, which Rocha lovingly captures.

Place: CINEMA 3

Date: 9 April 2016

Time: 19:30

Duration: 1:45

Place: CINEMA 3

Date: 10 April 2016

Time: 18:15

Duration: 1:45

Year in
Festival

2016

Director

Marília Rocha

Camera

Ivo Lopes Araújo

Cast

Elizabete Francisca
Francisca Manuel
Paulo Nazareth
Jonnata Doll
Wederson dos Santos

Country

Brazil
Portugal

Editor

Francisco Moreira

Language

Portuguese

Length

99 min

Producer

Luana Melgaço
João Matos

Production Company

Anavilhana Filmes
Terratreme Filmes

Production Design

Thais de Campos

Sales

FiGa Filmes

Scenario

João Dumans
Marília Rocha
Thais Fujinaga

Sound Design

Tiago de Matos

Year of Production

2016

Marília ROCHA (1978, Brazil) holds a master’s degree in Social Communication. She is co-founder of the collective Teia (and a member up to 2013) and has made numerous short films and videos. Cattle Callers (2005), her first feature documentary, won an award at the International Documentary Film Festival in Brazil. Where I Grow Old (2016) is her fourth film.

 

Filmography

Aboio/Cattle Callers (2005, doc), Dead End (2007, co-dir, segment: 1), Acácio (2008), A falta que me faz/Like Water Through Stone (2009), Caminhos/On the Move (2011, TV series, 4 episodes), A cidade onde envelheço/Where I Grow Old (2016)