Seeds: Black Women in Power
Dir.
Éthel Oliveira, Julia Mariano
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|
2016
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105 min
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Documental
Prod.:
Noix Cultura
Prod.:
Amanda Letícia, Éthel Oliveira, Taturana – Carol Misorelli
Expand public access to the work of Black women in institutional politics in Rio de Janeiro, and challenge the lack of representativeness in Brazilian politics.
Synopsis
In response to the execution of Marielle Franco, the 2018 elections became the largest political uprising led by Black women ever seen in Brazil, with candidates in every state. In Rio de Janeiro, Mônica Francisco, Rose Cipriano, Renata Souza, Jaqueline de Jesus, Tainá de Paula, and Talíria Petrone ran for state or federal deputy positions. The documentary follows these women’s campaigns and shows that it is possible to build a new way of doing politics in Brazil—transforming grief into struggle.
Why learn about this impactful campaign?
The film was a low-budget production, funded through personal resources, crowdfunding, and later institutional support. Seeds premiered just weeks before one of the most intense and significant municipal elections in Brazil. The aim was to use the film to draw public attention to the existence of political alternatives beyond the typical, heteropatriarchal, and white image of Brazilian politics.
At the time of its release, Brazil was six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were still navigating the radical shift to online life. We chose to embrace the uniqueness of a fully virtual impact campaign. The protagonists of the film were political activists who were frequently targeted on social media, so digital security was a major concern during the launch and throughout the virtual events that followed.
The impact campaign was led by two production teams experienced in audiovisual consumption practices outside traditional exhibition hubs. They moved effectively between educational and cultural institutions as well as social movements, organizations, and institutions that joined the film’s impact distribution plan.
