Mars One

Utopian dreams and anxieties characterizes the daily struggles of a working class family in Contagem, shaped by political and social realities.

The father of the family dreams of his son Deivinho becoming a famous footballer, but he is more interested in astrophysics. The mother, Tércia, who has completely sacrificed her life for the family, wants their daughter to follow in her footsteps, and is shocked when she gets to know what her daughter really dreams of.

Mars One has a strong political message, where street pranks and the election of a far-right president go hand in hand, shaping the family members' personal concerns and challenges as they pursue differently shaped dreams to escape reality. This social realist drama, which partly overlaps comedy, action and horror, shows the nature of escapism and its function for a poor family.

The film premiered in January 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival and has been a festival favorite ever since. This autumn, it was nominated by the Academia Brasileira de Cinema as the Brazilian representative to compete for the Oscar for Best International Film in 2023.

Maka Dolidze

Director

Gabriel Martins was born in the city of Contagem, Minas Gerais in Brazil. He studied film, video and photography at Centro Universitário UNA, and made his debut as editor and cinematographer for the short film Fantasmas (2010) directed by André Novais Oliveira. His career as a director started in 2021 when he made his first short film Meu Amigo Mineiro. He is one of the partners of the production company Filmes de Plastic.

This film is part of