https://rollingstone.com.br/cinema/destaques-nacionais-49-mostra-cinema-de-sao-paulo/

https://rollingstone.com.br/cinema/destaques-nacionais-49-mostra-cinema-de-sao-paulo/

To help with the cinematic marathon, Rolling Stone Brasil prepared a list of 15 national productions to keep an eye on at the 2025 São Paulo Exhibition

From October 16th, the São Paulo International Film Festivalone of the biggest cinema events in Brazil and Latin America, presents its 49th edition, which allows cinephiles and cinema enthusiasts to check out hundreds of new productions, works by renowned directors and new talents in sessions distributed throughout São Paulo and the region.

To help with the movie marathon, the Rolling Stone Brazil prepared a list with 15 national productions to keep an eye on São Paulo Exhibition 2025including The Secret Agentnew feature film Kleber Mendonça Filho (Nightjar) starring Wagner Moura (Marighella), who will represent Brazil in the race for the 2026 Oscar, in addition to The Son of a Thousand Menadaptation of the book by Valter Hugo Mother. Check it out:

The Secret Agent

The Secret Agent is set in the 1970s and revolves around Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a university professor who flees from São Paulo to Recife to escape government agents who are looking for him for subversive activities. However, he soon discovers that he is being spied on by his neighbors.

The Son of a Thousand Men

In The Son of a Thousand MenChrysostom (Rodrigo Santoro), a 40-year-old fisherman who grew up isolated from society, dreams of having a child. Convinced that “when you dream big, reality learns”, he sets out in search of true relationships, invents an atypical family and brings together characters as eccentric as they are human. Interweaving non-linear stories into a multiple and delicate plot, the fisherman meets Camilo, a 12-year-old boy, orphaned son of Francisca, a woman with dwarfism. Camilo encourages him to look for a companion, and so Crisóstomo finds Isaura, a dishonored woman sunk in loneliness, married to Antoninus (Johnny Massaro), a sensitive and fragile man. With simplicity and tenderness, Crisóstomo deconstructs our vision of masculinity by bringing together characters who suffered and were rejected by the small fictional coastal village, in an ode to those who resist and manage to truly connect by not being bound by social conventions or society’s limiting beliefs.

‘The Secret Agent’, ‘The Son of a Thousand Men’ and more national highlights at the 49th São Paulo Film Festival (Disclosure/Netflix)

Night Act

In Night Actan ambitious actor and a rising politician have a secret affair and, together, discover they have a fetish for sex in public places. As they get closer to fame, the more intense the desire to put themselves at risk becomes.

Honest

Mix of documentary and fiction, Honest tells the story of Honestino Guimarãesstudent leader of generation 68, president of UNE and student at UnB. Arrested five times, the young man was kidnapped at the age of 26, in 1973, and is one of the disappeared during the Brazilian Military Dictatorship.

‘The Secret Agent’, ‘The Son of a Thousand Men’ and more national highlights at the 49th São Paulo Film Festival (Disclosure/Estação Films)

Love Kills

Set in the center of São Paulo devastated by crack, Love Kills follows a young vampire, who haunts a dirty cafe and ends up charming a naive waiter. As the boy discovers her secrets, as well as the city’s underworld, he begins to be drawn into a dangerous world of immortal intrigue, challenging his own morality.

Cyclone

Cyclone takes place in São Paulo, 1919. Defying all the rules, a young worker and playwright wins a coveted scholarship to study theater in Paris, but soon discovers that the biggest obstacle to realizing her dream is being born into a world where women don’t even own their own bodies.

Virtuosas

In Virtuosasa VIP retreat for women looking to be the best version of themselves turns into an absurd and dangerous journey.

‘The Secret Agent’, ‘The Son of a Thousand Men’ and more national highlights at the 49th São Paulo Film Festival (Disclosure/Olhar Filmes)

Labyrinth of the Lost Boys

Labyrinth of the Lost Boys features a country boy who gets lost in the dawn of the big city, experiencing a series of progressively bizarre sexual encounters, while a killer lurks in the shadows of the metropolis.

Future Future

Future Future Set in the near future, where advances in artificial intelligence coexist with the emergence of a new neurological syndrome, a 40-year-old man with no memory, named K, is taken in by a lonely 60-year-old clickworker in the impoverished part of a rainy Brazilian city. After using an addictive AI device on a course for people with the strange syndrome, K embarks on a tragic and absurd journey to try to find his place in the world.

Death and Life Madalena

In Death and Life MadalenaMadalena is a film producer having to deal with the recent death of her father, her 8-month pregnancy and the production of a science fiction B where everything seems to go wrong.

Dolores

In Doloreson the eve of turning 65, Dolores has a premonition: her life will change. She will own a successful casino. But her past gambling addiction could work against her. Deborah, her only daughter, waits for her boyfriend to get out of prison to start a new life, while Duda, Dolores’ granddaughter, grabs an opportunity to work in the United States. The three women try to turn their dreams of a better life into reality, betting everything or nothing.

The Nature of Invisible Things

In the history of The Nature of Invisible ThingsGlória is 10 years old and spends her holidays at the hospital where her mother works as a nurse. There she meets Sofia, a girl who is convinced that her great-grandmother’s worsening health is caused by her admission to the hospital. United by their desire to get out of there, the children find comfort in each other’s company. When the departure becomes inevitable, the girls and their mothers head to a refuge in the interior of Goiás to spend the last days of an unforgettable summer.

Parrots

In ParrotsTunico is the most famous “Pirate Parrot” in Rio de Janeiro and is always chasing reporters to appear on TV. After a serious accident, he meets Beto, a mysterious young man who becomes his apprentice. This meeting will reveal the hidden face of the search for fame at any cost, in a Brazil with more than 70 million televisions turned on every day.

Gravity

In the plot of Gravityon the eve of the end of the world, Sydia and her daughter Nina find themselves trapped in an endless night inside the family’s old mansion. While isolation intensifies conflicts between mother and daughter, the unexpected arrival of the mysterious Lara awakens tensions. Joana, the maid who had disappeared without explanation, returns with news from the outside world and the four women are forced to confront their most intimate fears. Amid the imminent collapse, secrets come to light, and each woman will be confronted with the weight of her choices.

‘The Secret Agent’, ‘The Son of a Thousand Men’ and more national highlights at the 49th São Paulo Film Festival (Disclosure)

Maids

In MaidsSandra returns to her cousin Mariana’s house in search of a photo of her late mother, who worked there as a live-in maid for Mariana’s parents. Although they were raised together, Sandra, a dark-skinned black woman, and Mariana, a light-skinned black woman, lived in that house in very different ways. As they reconnect, long-buried memories take shape around them. Ghosts of childhood, of ancestry, of a love that never completely went away.

READ ALSO: ‘Small Creatures’, ‘Ato Noturno’ and more winners of the Rio 2025 Festival

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Angelo Cordeiro (@angelocordeirosilva)

Angelo Cordeiro is a reporter for Editora Perfil’s cinema section, which includes CineBuzz, Rolling Stone Brasil and Contigo. Graduated in Journalism from Universidade São Judas, he has been writing about films since 2014. Born in São Paulo from the Interlagos neighborhood and a Formula 1 fanatic. Pisces, but does not believe in astrology. São Paulo, pet father and movie buff obsessed with lists and rankings.

Source: Rollingstone

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