With no prior research of characters or locations and no predetermined theme, a film crew arrives in the state of Paraíba in search of people with stories to tell. The crew finds a rural community with eighty-six families. Facilitated by a young girl, the residents—most of them elderly—tell the stories of their lives, with an emphasis on religion, hierarchy, and their strong sense of family and honor. Coutinho’s gift for drawing out individual characters’ innate storytelling abilities is complemented by the eloquent images he uses to bring these stories to life. —MoMA
Eduardo Coutinho (b. May 11, 1933 in São Paulo) is an Brazilian film director, screen writer, actor and film producer. He directed and wrote the script to the 1967 popular Brazilian film, El ABC del amor near the beginning of his career. The film was entered into the 17th Berlin International Film Festival. —wikipedia
