With nominations for the "Golden Leopard" from its world premiere in the Locarno Film Festival program and for the "Golden Hugo" from Chicago, Pia Marais’ film Transamazonia portrays the conflict between the young healer Rebecca and her father, who preach the Christian faith as missionaries deep in the Amazon jungle. Rebecca’s abilities act as a magnet for people in need of her skills, and the storytelling prowess of Marais, who is also one of the film’s screenwriters, captivates the audience’s interest. Transamazonia is an ambitious and powerful drama that also highlights the crisis of deforestation—a harsh reality of the Amazon. Born in South Africa and currently living and working in Germany, Pia Marais presents her fourth feature film, which will hit theaters in March, personally introduced by the director herself. In an interview with Cineuropa, she shares:
“The first time I was there was in 2015, during a very long trip. The idea of shooting a movie in the Amazon rainforest really has to do with deforestation. I remember that, apart from the forest, the place was unbearably hot, and everywhere I went, I saw churches. It was crazy, as even the smallest villages had churches. All this made me feel the urgency of telling this story. I’m not a political person, but I felt the need to speak about it; I couldn’t unsee it. That was the driving force to make me dig deeper into what was happening in the Amazon rainforest. I was also interested in the question of identity, the pattern that your family and your background give you.”***
The latest film by Israeli director and producer Doron Eran, 10 Kilos, is inspired by the true story of Sharon Yitzhaki, as recounted by herself in a biographical book that became a bestseller. Sharon departs for Bolivia with a young man she barely knows and ends up accused of smuggling 10 kilograms of cocaine across the border. She is imprisoned for five years in Miraflores, the most brutal women's prison in Bolivia. News agencies pick up the story, and soon Sharon becomes the most notorious woman convicted in the country. She engages in a passionate love affair with the head of the Bolivian drug cartel in La Paz, who is serving a sentence in the neighboring men's prison. As a result, Sharon becomes the biggest drug trafficker behind bars. Meanwhile, she adopts a seven-year-old girl, befriends a handsome transgender individual, falls into cocaine addiction, and then decides she must break free from that dependence in order to care for her unique “family.” The dawn of the new millennium brings them fortune with the Pope’s declaration of a “Holy Year of Mercy”—an opportunity which Sharon seizes to escape with her “family” to New York. All of this occurs before she turns 28... and it is absolute truth. Sharon Yitzhaki’s memoirs are a real thriller, as well as a testament to the exceptional strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Doron Eran will be a guest at Sofia Film Festival in March and will personally present his latest film.
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