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The infamous Mangueira Hill in Rio de Janeiro, so often portrayed with an emphasis on poverty and violence, is given a fresh representation in Georgia Guerra-Peixe’s visually stunning and poetic essay. Traveling up the Hill in the days preceding Carnival, Guerra-Peixe and her camera perform a dance of their own, discovering the untold stories behind the samba’s rhythm. The camera, floating gracefully and purposefully around corners and through crevices, peering in windows and invited into homes, creates a vivid and expressive portrait of the beauty and vitality behind a musical tradition and vibrant culture. Meeting the diverse residents of the Hill and the students of the Mangueira Samba School where Guerra-Peixe’s father once worked, reflecting upon her own history, a gaze of tenderness and affection emerges. Lynne Crocker

Co-Presented with Co-presented with Brazil Film Fest.

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