Brazilian film ‘A professora de francês’ premieres at San Sebastián

The Brazilian film ‘A professora de francês’, directed by Ricardo Alves Jr., has premiered in the Horizontes Latinos section of the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Described as a ‘social horror’ film, the story follows Graça, a progressive French teacher and lesbian, who returns to her childhood neighborhood in Belo Horizonte to care for her ailing father.

Upon her return, she encounters a local religious congregation that initially offers support but eventually attempts to force her into traditional gender roles. The director uses the film as an allegory for the political climate in Brazil, specifically referencing the period following the 2016 impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. Alves Jr. describes the work as a ‘hyperbolic and allegorical horror fable’ intended to represent the ‘daily nightmare’ and rising intolerance experienced in the country over recent years.