Madame Satã

Hustler, dreamer, devil, saint

A gritty, intimate portrait of a marginalized figure in 1930s Rio who transforms pain and survival into theatrical self-expression, balancing brutality with tenderness.

In the favelas of Rio de Janeiro of the 1930s, João Francisco dos Santos is several things — son of slaves, ex-convict, thug, homosexual and adopted father for a number of pariahs. João expresses himself on the stage of a cabaret as Madame Satã.