August Winds

We are, in Gabriel Mascaro’s first feature film, introduced to Shirley, a woman who is forced to move to the countryside from the big city, in order to to take care of her grandmother. She gets a job in a coconut plantation and this leads to her romantic involvement with her colleague, Jeison, who spends most of his free time diving. The relationship evolves and culminates in love scenes on top of the truckload of coconuts. Such aesthetic scenes enable the audience to be transported into the lives of the main protagonists.

However death lies right beneath the surface of the couple`s youthful and all-consuming love. This theme grows gradually more prevalent after Jeison finds a skull, and later a corpse washed ashore. Mascaro has made a subdued and fragmentary tale that leaves a deep impression on the audience.

Gabriel Mascaro from Brazil started his career as a documentary-maker, known for High-rise (2009) and Housemaids (2013). He made his first feature film, August Winds in 2014. This year, Neon Bull, winning the Special Jury Prize during the 72nd Venice Film Festival, brought him acclaim worldwide.

DIRECTOR CONVERSATION

Gabriel Mascaro will be present at the screenings at Vika October 12, 9.15 p.m., and October 13, 3.45 p.m., where there will be Q&As after both screenings.