The Dead Girl's Feast (Portuguese: A Festa da Menina Morta) is the first feature film directed by actor Matheus Nachtergaele, released in 2009 and premeried at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.[1] Filming took place in the municipality of Barcelos, in the state of Amazonas[2]
| The Dead Girl's Feast | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster | |
| Directed by | Matheus Nachtergaele |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Lula Carvalho |
| Edited by | Cao Guimarães
Karen Harley |
| Music by | Matheus Nachtergaele |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes [1] |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Brazilian Portuguese |
The film won two APCA Awards: one in the category of Best Fiction Film, the other in the category of best photography direction by Lula Carvalho[3]
Plot
editEvery year, for the last 20 years, The Dead Girls Feast has been celebrated in a small riverside community in the upper part of the Rio Negro, in the Amazon. The occasion commemorates the ingenuous miracle that was performed by the Saint, a local boy who, soon after suffering his mother's suicide, recovered the shredded and bloodstained remains of a missing girl's dress from the mouth of a stray dog. The little girl's remains were never found, but the remains of her dress were enshrined, by the Saint, to create a place of worship and pilgrimage in his home.
The practices of the cult and the annual feast evolved over the years into a huge enterprise, despite persistent objections from the dead girls' brother, Tadeu. These days, the inhabitants of nearby Amazon villages visit the small town on the holy day to worship, pray and beg, as they anxiously await the girl's revelations, which are to be channeled by the Saint.
The saint's father is eager to exploit every opportunity to profit from the event and from his son's growing reputation in the region, even as he carries out a casually incestuous relationship with his son. The devout aunt lives as a surrogate mother in service to the Saint and keeps her concerns about his incestuous private life a secret. The doting women, Das Graças, and the young novice, Lucia, do their best to maintain order and decency in the household shrine, which occasionally results in bouts of madness.
On the day of the feast, Tadeu steps back into his role of literally propping up the entranced Saint through a procession to the riverside. A hush goes over the largest gathering ever in attendance as the Saint steps up to the microphone to utter the Dead Girl's annual message.
Cast
edit- Daniel de Oliveira - Santinho (The Saint)
- Juliano Cazarré - Tadeu (brother of the Dead Girl)
- Jackson Antunes[pt] - Pai (Santinho's Father)
- Cássia Kis - Mother/Figure of the Mother
- Dira Paes - Diana
- Paulo José - Padre (Priest)
- Ednelza Sahdo[pt] - Tia (Aunt)
- Rosa Malagueta[pt] - Malagueta
- Francisco Mendes - Anderson
References
edit- ^ a b "A FESTA DA MENINA MORTA (THE DEAD GIRL'S FEAST)". Cinéma de Demain. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "'A festa da menina morta' revê raízes amazônicas" ['The Dead Girl's Feast' revisits Amazonian roots]. g1.globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 June 2009. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Confira a lista dos vencedores do prêmio APCA 2009" [Check out the list of APCA 2009 award winners]. Estadão (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 December 2009. Retrieved 2024-11-01.