The journey begins with a dream in which filmmaker João reveals to his mother his intention to seek out the children his grandmother, Aurora, a revered midwife, once delivered. It is said that under her watch, no child ever perished.
Accompanied by the spirit of his grandmother, João sets off to connect with the women in his lineage—both the ancestors and descendants of Aurora, spanning the realms of the living and the dead. This quest resembles a rite of passage, leading him to the harsh, arid landscapes of Bahia in Northeast Brazil, where he uncovers a tapestry of tragic fates. He confronts a family curse that unveils a deep-seated history of violence against women, intertwined with the legacies of patriarchy, evangelism, and slavery.
In his pursuit of Aurora—symbolizing both dawn and hope—João reveals the extent of the violence that has shaped Brazil’s foundation. Yet, amid this exploration of darkness, Aurora harnesses the art of cinema to create a stunningly beautiful narrative, giving voice to the silenced and restoring their stories. Through this cinematic journey, she offers the potential to rewrite these narratives, crafting new endings filled with love, compassion, and healing.
- World Premiere: Visions du Réel — International Feature Film Competition
- Olhar De Cinema - Curitiba IFF
- São Paulo International Film Festival / Mostra Internacional De Cinema
- FIDBA, Festival Internacional de Cine Documental De Buenos Aires
- Doclisboa International Film Festival - Legal Partners Rights and Freedoms Audience Award
- DOC NYC
About the Director
João Vieira Torres is a Brazilian-French artist, filmmaker and writer, born in Recife, Brazil. Since 2002, he lives and works between France and Brazil. João Vieira Torres’ work has been shown internationally and recognized with numerous grants and prizes, among them: Flaherty Seminar (USA), Art of the Real Lincoln Center (USA), Centre Pompidou (FR), FID Marseille (France), Palais de Tokyo (FR), IFFR – International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL), Mostra Olhar de Cinema – twice winner of the Best Brazilian Short Film Award (BR), and others. His practice combines photography, film, video art, performance, writing, drawing, and theoretical research. One of the main focuses of his work is the question of “otherness”, exploring forms of instability and breaking points in the perspectives that emerge from it. He is particularly interested in the possibilities and needs of finding an anchoring point, whether territorial, identity-based, historical, or corporeal. His latest film, AURORA, was presented as a work-in-progress performance at the Festival Hors Piste (Centre Pompidou) and as a development project at Berlinale’s Doc Station. It was awarded the Brouillon d’un rêve by Scam and Cnap (FR) and received funding from CNC (FR), ICA (PT), BNDES (BR), and was co-produced by Riofilme (BR). João Vieira Torres holds a master’s degree in photography and video from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, a post-graduate residency at Le Fresnoy – Studio Nationale des Arts Contemporains, and a doctorate in Document and Contemporary Art at the École Européenne Supérieure de l’Image.
FILMOGRAPHY
2021 Mal Di Mare/Seasick, 15’
2016 Les enfants fantômes, 17’
Les oiseaux sont distraits, 70’
2015 Toré, 16’
2014 La faille dans le paysage, 15’
2013 La double coïncidence des désirs, 15’
2012 Ici, là-bas et Lisboa, 18’
2011 La bibliothèque la nuit, 18’
2009 Le Bain, 5’
