Iracema

A raw showing of the Transamazonic Road

A bleak, socially conscious road film documenting exploitation and desperation across the Amazon frontier, built on intimate human connection amid systemic tragedy.

A girl from the countryside goes to the city of Belém to take part in the Círio de Nazaré celebrations. Led to prostitution, she wishes to move to the wealthiest Southeast region of Brazil. In a dance club, she meets a truck driver that transports wood. Dreaming with the big city, she asks for a ride, and the two begin a journey through the Trans-Amazon road. In tension with the Brazilian military authorities of the time, the film registers several aspects of the Amazon social tragedy – forest fires, slave work and child prostitution. Awarded in several international festivals, the film was forbidden by Brazilian censors. It was only released years later, winning the Brasília Film Festival in 1981.