A City for Christine

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At the Malaga Festival in Spain, Brazilian filmmaker Caru Alves de Souza – who won a Crystal Bear for “My Name is Baghdad” – will reveal his upcoming project titled “A City for Christine.” This movie is one of the main attractions at the MAFF industry event, the Málaga Festival Fund Co-Production Event.

City for Christine” is a work by Alves de Souza, chosen as one of EbMaster’s Brazil: 10 Emerging Talents to Watch Over, and Nara Marinho, who collaborated on “Underage,” a series extension based on Alves de Souza’s 2013 debut feature film with the same name, which has been selected for Berlin 2025.

In the main character’s part, Karina Buhr – a renowned Brazilian musician known for her work as a singer-songwriter and percussionist – will take center stage. Notably, she previously appeared in “My Name is Baghdad,” which was awarded Best Film at Berlin’s 2020 Generation 14plus sidebar.

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Karina Buhr, a celebrated Brazilian singer-songwriter and percussionist who has been recognized for her role in “My Name is Baghdad” (a film that won Best Film at Berlin’s 2020 Generation 14plus sidebar), will be portraying the leading character.

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The lead character will be portrayed by Karina Buhr, a multi-talented Brazilian musician who gained fame for her work as a singer-songwriter and percussionist, and also starred in “My Name is Baghdad,” which won Best Film at Berlin’s 2020 Generation 14plus sidebar.

City for Christine” (“A City for Christine”) brings together Alves de Souza and Rafaella Costa. Notably, Rafaella is the founder of Manjericão Filmes and has been a career-long producer for her partner in filmmaking, having won Rio Film Festival’s best film with their work “Underage.

Costa was involved in the creation of two films directed by Tata Amaral – “Bring It Inside” (2013) and “Express Kidnapping” (2018). Additionally, he worked on Lillah Halla’s film “Levante,” which won the Fipresci Prize for films competing outside of Cannes’ Official Selection and was also screened during Cannes Critics’ Week.

The novel “A City for Christine” opens by following Christine, a woman who has fled from domestic abuse, as she navigates the bustling cityscape of São Paulo. This captivating narrative, penned by Alves de Souza, challenges established norms and questions authority, all while showcasing strong female agency throughout.

She encounters various scenarios due to her being a woman and interacts with other women who emphasize the importance of considering cities through a lens that includes gender, race, and social class. This perspective aims to deconstruct violence against women, occurring both in public spaces and private homes.

The day following her escape, Christine goes back to her house to exact retribution against her tormentor, aided by the lady she’s met along the way.

Alves de Souza posed these queries to EbMaster: ‘Are cities inherently gendered?’ and ‘How might our urban landscapes transform if they were tailored with female perspectives in mind?’

She explained that our project features a mix of planned and improvised segments, aiming to explore the concept of ‘The Right to the City.’ This principle suggests that everyone should contribute to shaping the areas where they reside, and have the freedom to inhabit and live comfortably within them. Yet, the reality of big cities often contradicts this notion, as they are characterized by exclusion and the commercialization of spaces and connections between people,” she said. She further noted, “The ideology behind large urban centers clashes with this idea.

The project was granted the 2022 BRDE/Fundo Setorial do Audiovisual (FSA) award, which is given through a public bidding process, under the TV/VOD Production, Via Programmer category. This category supports artistic and auteurist projects via television channels or VOD services. Importantly, this grant covers approximately 80% of the film’s overall budget.

The project we’re working on is in the phase of conducting research, raising funds, and developing screenplays. At Mafiz, Malaga’s industry gathering, Costa and Alves de Souza will be seeking out potential investors, distributors, programmers, co-producers, sales agents, and international financing options.

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2025-03-12 16:48