FROM THE BRAZILIAN SUMMER INTO THE BELGRADE WINTER

This year’s FEST guest Ferdanda Machado plays one of the main roles in Hose Padilla’s Elite Squad. The film was made according to the same-named semi-autobiography about a special operations unit of the Rio de Janeiro police, by Sociologist Luis Eduardo Soares and two former captains of the unit Andre Batista and Rodrigo Pimentela.

After screenings in Brazil and the Golden Bear in Berlin, the film has stirred controversy for having depicted unpunished police brutality in the favelas. This brutality was what most shocked Fernanda Machado:

-We were also shocked by the cruel reality in the film. We simply could not believe that there was such a degree of corruption, especially in politics. Viewers worldwide had the same reaction: they asked if it was possible that what they had just seen in the film was real. I think that Hose Padilla had a lot of courage when he decided to make such a film. I was personally pleased with the international success of the film, although I did not personally have the opportunity to follow the reactions. I travelled to Havana on the International Festival of Latin American Film. FEST is my second festival. That is why I’m particularly looking forward to visiting Belgrade, which seems great with all this snow and cold. It’s hot in Rio now, says Fernanda Machado.>

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